Don’t pledge your gold, use it only as a last resort. We’ve all heard that before. While it’s tough to let go of this obsession of holding on to gold, it’s tougher to overlook the glitter of gold loans these days. According to the RBI, total gold loans saw a compound annual growth rate of 64.9% from 2008 to 2012 and the total outstanding from gold loans rose from Rs.20,000 crore in April 2008 to more than Rs.1,50,000 crore by February 2012. The ease of accessing credit against gold at a relatively lower interest rate has really buoyed this surge. Though it all looks nice and shiny but how does pledging gold for credit stack up against other finance options such as credit cards and personal loans?