Premium bonds

[Wouldyougivemeamortgage]

Would you buy premium bonds? There doesn't seem to be a downside, does anyone know of any?

I have a small savings pot that needs to grow so I can buy a house. My savings are earning nothing in the bank so thought I could transfer to premium bonds, even if I win £25 it's more than I'd get in the bank.

Anyone have any experience of them?

I have £10,000 in premium bonds. I win £25 or multiples of £25 most months, in the past 6 months I've won £250.

I've never won big though, although I often daydream about it!

My parents and my Nan have them. My Nan is always winning but she has the full amount you’re allowed so it’s not really surprising. I’d say go for it

I used to have some, but not any more. They're alright but nothing special I'd say. Capital's safe and you're essentially gambling the interest.

You can get better returns from normal savings accounts, but to be honest even those feel kind of crappy these days, so it's hard to care much about unless you already have substantial savings.

I've got about £12k of savings in premium bonds and win something usually every other month. Usually somewhere between £25-£100.

I like the excitement each month of seeing if I've won and DP regularly discuss what we'll buy when we win the million.. I'd miss that daydreaming!

As a PP said, it also stops impulse buying because you have to wait a few days to get the money out

I've been waiting for my £1m pounds for a long time now. I suppose it's only fair to admit we have had the odd small win while we wait. At least the amount we put in can't go down, although inflation will have taken its toll.

*I know that 'pounds' wasn't necessary. This is why it isn't a good idea to post when the sun first goes over the yardarm. Ahem.

Does anyone know anyone who has won one of the really big prizes? I daydream about winning a million

Interest on my saving account is 0.05% so I’m not losing much by having premium bonds 🙂

We win around £50-150 a month for a £40k investment. Biggest win has been £1k many years ago. Am waiting for the big one!

DD has had £100 in PB for 17 years and just won her first £25.

DH's aunt won £100k around 30 years ago - a huge amount then and she was already fabulously wealthy!

I’ve averaged 1-1.5% over the past few years.

The most exciting thing is to have the app because once a month you have the Big Reveal with balloons and sparkles 🤣. I lead a very quiet life..

They constantly alter the amount paid out each month depending on the levels of investment. I’ve usually won something each month but not for the past couple. I’ve never had more than a £50 win although sometimes multiples of £25.

They are ok but it’s a minute chance of winning a significant sum (unless £25 is significant to you 😊)

swampytigga you want to shop around a bit, you are losing money.

They used to be good but the odds are not great anymore. I wouldn’t bother if I were you.

I’ve had some since 1966... not a penny ... and yes, they know my contact details.

Weve got quite a bit as a family due to an inheritance and birthday gift

We win £25 on a regular basis...certainly more money than we would get in interest

We Get about £25 a month. Hoping for the big one. But we have a lot of money in there. But think you have to invest a lot to get anything. Think we are tracking about 1-2% at the moment.

I have a large % of my savings in PB.

I win regularly and worked out I had won almost double what I would have done if I had invested in anything else zero risk.

As a bonus, every month I think I might win the £million

Just checked 1.6%.

@SciFiScream

This is a silly question but you might be able to help.

I have some savings earning a pittance I could tuck away in PBs but I already have £100 in there and for convoluted reasons I'd like to keep any new PBs separate from that batch.

Is that possible?

The £100 is from a lottery syndicate and we agreed to pop into bonds in the hopes we might win big! So I'd want to keep that separate for ethical/transparency reasons with my syndicate.

Yes, that’s really simple to do. When you win a prize you sign into your online account and see the number of the winning bond. You then look at your transaction history to see which batch of bonds your prize came from e.g. £100 of bonds purchased in June 2007.

Just be careful if you want to withdraw your personal investment later on, as it will automatically withdraw the oldest bonds first. To get around this I believe you can fill in a form and specify the exact bond numbers you want to sell. Therefore keeping the £100 lottery batch intact.

I have just got it up to £2,000 and I won 3 * £25 last year. (nothing this year yet so you can't rely on it)
It's easy to get the money out which is good as mainly it's there so I can cope if the Washer, Freezer, TV etc breaks. Or if all of them break at the same time which would be my luck.

And of course there is that chance of a big prize which is nice.

I have some as I didn't want to tie the cash up as I'm looking to move house. In 14 months I've won 10 x £25, some months £50 other months £0.

I have the maximum in premium bonds, and there are very few months when I don’t win. Mainly £25 prizes, but frequently I get 2/3/4/5 of these in the monthly draw. Only once have I won a £50 prize, and nothing larger. However, I reckon I accumulate more than I would in an ISA, and it’s a bit of fun checking each month.

I started with £20k, now have nearer to £30k. Have won about £1500 in 18 months (including one £1k win!)

I was given £10 when I was born and promptly (at less than a year) won £50. Not a sausage since but I think I can’t really complain given that original return!

If you are wanting to be safe better of getting an NS&I bond instead
It’s equally safe and guaranteed return

I've had about 1k in premium bonds for about 30 years and won about £100. But you never know! I don't need that money so I'll take my chances. I think they are pretty rubbish though.