Festive Loans: 5 Checks Before You Sign the Deal

Banks and lenders flood the market with festive offers every October. Gold rewards, zero-processing-fee loans, and cashback sound great — but a few hidden traps can cost you more than the discount you got.

Here's what happened: Multiple banks and NBFCs have launched festive season campaigns offering personal loan discounts, gold rewards, and reduced processing fees targeting Dussehra and Diwali shoppers.. Offers range from waived processing fees on home and personal loans to cashback and gold coins for customers who take or top up loans during the festive window.. Lenders are also bundling shopping benefits with credit cards and consumer-durable EMI schemes, making it harder for borrowers to compare the true cost of credit..

What you should do: Compare the APR — not just the interest rate — across at least three lenders before accepting any festive loan offer, since APR includes processing fees, insurance add-ons, and prepayment costs.. Check your CIBIL score before applying so you can negotiate the rate; borrowers with a score above 750 often qualify for the lender's best rate, festive campaign or not.. Read the loan agreement for a deferred-interest or 'no-cost EMI' clause — some festive BNPL and consumer-durable schemes pass the interest cost to the merchant, who inflates the product price instead..

Pro tip: Festive loan offers usually expire by mid-November — but lenders quietly extend similar rates in December to clear year-end targets. Waiting two weeks rarely costs you the deal.