PREMIUM BONDS DECEMBER *edited from Nov by MNHQ*

[Blondeshavemorefun]

PB have been about since 1957
Been 30yrs (April 2024) since a million was then the highest prize
nsandi-corporate.com/news-research/news/30-years-premium-bonds-ps1-million-jackpots#
Each bond is £1. You have to buy in minimum of £25 so means 25 chances to win every purchase - years ago you could buy £1 at a time.

Odds of winning £1 million on Premium Bonds at face value are 1 in 2,489,469,818 if you have £25 in PBs.
However most people have more than £25 so the odds depend on how much you do hold.

If you have £100 the odds in any given month are 1 in 49,563,028
£1,000 in PB the odds are 1 in 4,954,991
£50,000 in PB the odds are 1 in 96,839
To win anything odds are 1 in 22000
So providing you have more than £100 you have better odds than winning the lottery 😄
And obviously far better than the lottery - you don’t lose your stake !!!!!!

Bonds have to be in for a clear month before going into the draw
If you want to cash bonds in then usually takes 3 days to go into your account

Winnings can be reinvested if holdings are under £50k

This means they will go into the next months draw without losing a month
Or sent to named bank account if winnings take over FH /want winnings in bank account
More info here
www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/savings/types-of-savings/premium-bonds

The best time to buy premium bonds is on the last day of the month, as this means they are only held by NSI for one month and one day, without being entered into the prize draw.

Martin Lewis’s opinion on pb - quite an interesting read
https://www.saga.co.uk/money-news/premium-bonds
PB to me is the fun and thrill each month of what if I win big and a millionaire - to then hoping win thousands to a day or two later being grateful if win £25😂

I have nowhere near the maximum and probably never will unless I win £50k + on pb

But only takes one £1 to win that million !!!

I love seeing the low holdings win high amounts

We've seen over the years £100 holding win a million (March 25) also a £100 holding win £100k and £50 win £25k and even £1 won £10k

Maximum is £50k per person so some do have all for family- mum dad and 2 kids so £200k etx

Those on the thread are varying from few hundred /few thousand - to 20/30k to full holdings of £50k

Everyone is welcome to join in whether small or full holdings

One would expect if had full holdings of £50k to win something every month and think over the year to earn the same as if in a high interest account to win around £1925 in prizes at 3.9%
If have £5k average luck is £175 winnings a year

If have £1.5k average luck is £25 once a year

Obviously some people have better 'luck' than others and some worse - Ie full holdings and not winning anything a month or two or even longer

PB odds calculator below

https://moneymarvel.co.uk/calculators/premium-bonds/

shows the interest rate of the winnings - obv anything over 4% is good as if in an account you wouid be taxed so be more like 3%)

In August 2023, NS&I hiked the prize fund to a 24-year high of 4.65 per cent from 4 per cent, a level not seen since 1999 🙀🙀🙀🙀

But it has been steadily falling since, and of August 2025, the prize fund rate - the amount of the total fund paid out in prizes - is 3.6 %

Estimated prizes in August compared to June:
£1m - same
£100k - 4 less
£50k - 8 less
£25k - 15 less
£10k - 38 less
£5k - 78 less
£1k - 780 less
£500 - 2340 less
£100 and £50 - 16,5872 less each
£25 - 371,737 more.
So many of us may win £25 from August but means the higher value prizes are way less 🙀😢

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/nsi-premium-bonds-rate-changes-31317737

From google (august 2023) - The consistent winners are the 1.16 million people who have the maximum £50,000.

They hold almost half of all premium bonds and, at current odds of 1/22000 can expect a monthly stream of tax-free prizes: two a month and three almost every other month, 28 or 29 a year totaling £1925 (3.9% interest on £50k)
From google (Jan 2024) Tho equally With Premium Bonds, for every person who wins £1 million, a lot of people have to win nothing. So the median average will always be lower than the mean average.

This means that, with average luck, most people will win less than the prize rate each year, regardless of how many bonds they hold

To work out your own personal % rate
Take your total prizes, divide it by the number of months and x by 12.
Then divide that figure into your total holding and x 100.
So say £500 prizes in 6 months / 6 x 12 = £1000.
Holdings £30,000 = 1000/30000 x 100 = 3.33% interest rate.

But many on here do have £50k and then consider moving it to an account that pays 4% if their bonds aren't doing very well as would then def get extra money

But remember savings /interest get taxed
PB and their winnings don't
So anything over 3% in winnings is considered good.

People dither whether to pull out from pb and put in high interest account if not winning anything so that they will def earn x amount of interest

But then lose the what if won a million or £100k

If you have PB but not sure if you have ever won esp if moved about a lot
you can write to NS&I. Include these details in the letter:
Current name

Current address

Premium Bond holder number 

All previous addresses where you might have registered bonds

Your signature 

You can send your letter to:
NS&I,
Sunderland
SR43 2SB.

There are 2 apps afaik
Cream - prize checker and if won previous month will show a pic - which we all get excited over 😂😂😂

Blue - the app its self works but the showing early often doesn't work for me but those who reinvest their winnings say it shows if won the day before app shows 🙀🙀🙀

Seems the higher the winnings the earlier it shows and can be from 6pm the night before the app shows
And to confuse things I have a White app that is a bookmark - which shows info/list 😄😄😄

Now this has been debated on MANY times but seems to be correct
When do we find out if going to get a visit from AM 😂

The two winners of the £1million prizes will be contacted by Agent Million (AM) 😂😂 the day before the first working day of the corresponding month.

There may however be exceptions to this, such as when the first working day of the month is a bank holiday, for example.

So
AM - Day before first working day - Millionaire knock /call
LIST - First day of working month showing all winners million to £1k winners - which I always put up for those who can't find it
APP - Day after first working day , including weekends - cream app showing all winnings

You can also check to see if have won via this link with your holders number
www.nsandi.com/prize-checker

Hopefully I've covered everything
Good luck one and all 😄

I’m not feeling so confident with my small holdings after the 8m to 1 comment but in for a penny, in for a pound. Good luck all!

Phew! Lost you all for a while but now safely watching the thread 😍

Not won anything for a few months. A little £25 would be nice by the end of the year.

Hello. Can I join ive had an awful first few months with it. Last month was the first i got anything decent at £200.

Ive had 2 months with nothing and most months with only £50.

I have £49,500. I wasn't expecting the jackpot, but I expected better than this.

I'm afraid that this is exactly my experience too with £50K of PBs. I just don't seem to have any luck at all but my hope still seems to spring eternal! I hope you're now on a luckier streak from now on.

That is very rare for £50k

I won £5 and a lucky dip on the lottery last night ... It is simply warming me up for next week.

It is not a gambling problem ... I only do Premium Bonds and one set of lottery numbers on Weds and Sat, even cancelled Omaze (when they took back a prize I didn't know I had won so had missed the claim deadline - wasn't the house).

Just checking in

I did the calculator on money saving expert, and it came up as extremely unlucky. Apparently 99.1% of people with my holdings would have done better than me.

I'm beginning to wish I had never invested.It's been a waste of a year, and I ve hardly earned any money. I invested at the end of january this year, so the first draw they were eligible for was March.

So it's been eight draws, and twice.I ve had £0. The rest of the time I ve had low amounts too. £50 most of the time. Last month was the best but still only £200.

I'm very disappointed and wish I just left it in savings. Because even with the tax bill, it would have done better than this.

What did you win? And why didn’t they contact you properly? That’s awful!

Checking in for this months draw! We’ve had to take some out to start paying for our building works so not hoping for a lot as the last few months have been quite lean!!

Thing that’s the gamble and risk and I mention it in my first post

yes if in savings you would have earnt think around £1600 + interest yearly

but also could have won a million

if you are unhappy then remove all and put into a savings account

Absolutely, it’s all about the anticipation and the build up of excitement as we creep towards AM day and the draw

I have had a very lean run on FH with just 2 x £25 and 3 x 0 over the past five months, but I am still planning how I will spend the million on 4th November !!

@TheLivelyRose That’s the worst luck I’ve heard about with PBs since I’ve been on these threads (three years). How long are you going to give before you possibly withdraw?

My god that was blunt and unnecessary. I did mention I was new to the thread. I only wanted to bounce around ideas with other people who have them.Because nobody else I know does in real life.

Great, welcome just to do one if I don't like it.

I really don't know.I ll give it a full year.

Flicking through this thread before posting, it seemed that people had been quite supportive and commiserations with each other were a common theme too. So I thought it was quite sharp to tell me if I am not happy to just withdraw it by the owner of this thread.

It has been helpful though from you to hear that that's the worst luck you ve heard of and you ve been on these forums for 3 years. I don't know anyone else who has premium bonds.And i'm quite new to it myself so it has been handy to hear that rather than just tell me, that's the risk you take.

Most people aren't that unlucky. So the gamble for me is, do I wait a full year, or do I just withdraw it now. When the isa year recycles in april?I will certainly be taking several thousand out of the premium bonds and putting it into an isa.

If my luck improves over the next four months, which will take it to a full year.I ll leave it there, but if not, then I ll consider moving it.

Thank you for your insight.It was very helpful.

We’re usually pretty friendly on here @TheLivelyRose but we keep getting “helpful advice” from newbies about how we could get better/guaranteed returns from this or that type of savings vehicle, and it gets a bit wearing so sometimes we get a bit blunt.

Checking in ready for the draw. I only hold £250 so my odds are low. I've been putting money in from a "side hustle", I don't earn much from it but thought it was worth a try.

I think @Blondeshavemorefunwas answering factually, I think you have completely misinterpreted & overreacted there @TheLivelyRose

I wasn't giving any advice.I was asking for it, that's the difference.

Oh, a newbie can't ask about what people's experiences are you get sharp at that too. How nice.

It's only been eight months so it's good to hear from people who have had years of experience. I don't know anyone else who has them.So my only frame of reference was myself and my savings account.

That's enough to bite my head off.Then I don't know what to say.Sorry?!

Yes I was answering factually to what you posted

I’m beginning to wish I never invested

it’s been a waste of a year

im very disappointed and wish I left it in savings

that is what you said

it is a gamble but yes you have had very bad luck for £50k

i seem to have very good luck for a few thousand which will be drained again in jan to pay my tax bill

A bit of bad Bond luck for The Lively Rose ?

It happens - but Chin Up ....... u never know what happens next few Days

Always Look On The Bright Side of Toast

The ODDs of a £500 prize (or higher) are 2m : 1

The best days are long gone for chances of BIG prizes at 4.65%

for my average £20k in PBs - I had 22 prizes of £1,150 over
the 13 months Oct 24 to Oct 25

2 different sides of the coin from the full amount v barely any

we are a friendly bunch but yes over the years many do say with £50k they are not happy and wish they had moved

There are various PB holders on other websites
who have exceptional GOOD LUCK for a few months
and average luck other months ....... are these PRIZES genuine ??

Click bait ?

Any prize of £500 or higher is possibly
a Once In A Lifetime dollop of Amazingly Good Luck

My best months were £200 march25 and £325 april25

I agree that was unnecessarily blunt “if you are unhappy…” and @TheLivelyRose hasn’t overreacted.

Anyway, please give it one more month at least @TheLivelyRose and best of luck for November. Fir what it’s worth, I’ve noticed that the general experience here for people on FH is that over a year we’ve ended up with an average return.