Is it better to pay with cash or cards?

The ideal choice is to combine both. Bank cards are considered necessary and required to purchase tickets for landmark sites and pay hotel bills, while paying in cash is indispensable for daily simple transactions and popular markets.
Financial payment and handling in Egypt:

• Digitization touristic sites (Cashless ticketing): The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities recently changed to an electronic payment system in most museums and landmark sites (like the Pyramids and Luxor and Aswan temples), as cash is not accepted for purchasing tickets and required to use bank cards (Visa / Mastercard).
• The grand restaurants and hotels: In general, credit cards are widely accepted in the grand tourist buildings, airlines, and the upscale restaurants.
• The importance of cash (Egyptian pound): Cash is very important when shopping in the local markets (like Khan el-Khalili), dealing with taxi drivers, purchasing gifts from the local vendors, and most importantly, tipping for drivers and workers.
• ATMs are spread throughout all the tourist cities, airports, and near ship docks, which makes it easy to withdraw small amounts of money in Egyptian pounds according to daily needs instead of carrying large amounts of cash all at once.