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 😄

£150 for me on FH, that makes a win every month since May when I moved up to FH. Total of £800 won in that time.

pretty chuffed and have definitely cursed it now so expecting nothing next month 😁

Silly question! If you have FH and win prizes does it get reinvested even though you will have funds over £50k?

No, any prizes are sent directly to your nominated bank account approximately 5/6 days after the draw

£200 on almost FH.

Pleased with that, it's my birthday this month so I will treat myself, not sure what to but I'll think of something before the day.

£250 for me. I have £46k invested and have won about £900 this year so far.

Well, when I checked this morning about 4 hours ago, I had a big fat nothing.

I just had another look, because I was bristling a little bit and annoyed at the prospect of a second month with zero on the trot - £25 has magically appeared! So have another look just to be sure.

I think the trick is not to be too eager first thing. I logged on with a sort of nonchalance this time. I made my lucky biscuits this month as well which I didn't do last month, and it was a zero month last month. Coincidence? Of course not.

Just over a 3% return this year.

My every other month streak continues, with £100 this month, £350 since I started on holdings of £12,000. Congrats to the winners and good luck for November for those who were not so lucky this month.

£850 between us today! Holdings of 30k each.

I won £100 on £5k so I’m chuffed! I expect that’ll be my luck now for the year 🤣

PB are last on my list for savings/investments. ISA would get the funds before PB, I would happily take £20K out of PB if I didn't have the funds available to max my ISA in April.

I’m the same. Also, I think it’s wise that anyone who’s thinking of topping up a cash ISA should do so soon before the chancellor reduces the limit, as she’s rumoured to be planning.

£50 on £34k for me, after zero last month. Nice to win something, but I was very unexcited by the amount.

Currently on a return of around 2.3% for the year, which is a bit rubbish - but DH and I have both maxed out our ISAs and pensions and used up all our tax-free saving allowances, so that money might as well sit in PBs. Last year for example I ended up on over 8% for the year thanks to a £1k win one month.

I got £100 on £46k, which isn’t bad , but more importantly it keeps up a winning streak of 15 consecutive months 🙌 . Current rate % is 2.5% for the year, but last year was much better at 7%. Prizes are definitely noticeably smaller this year .

Amazing to see some £10k prizes on the other thread, would love to hear your plans for the winnings?

I got £100 on £19k so at 6.9% return for the year which is excellent

£150 for me on FH.

Gutted, nothing again!

Signed up to these for the first time a few days ago, so first draw I am eligible for will be Nov. Very exciting 😄

Wow. Congrats @ByQuaintAzureWasp. You are this months winner I think. Unless you get pipped ….

well done. How exciting

Get it ch aged to go into bank or auto invest

Ah just seen on old thread. You’ve been pipped

@mumof3teens just over £10k

tho any win is good

£125 on FH. I've never had a big win (had FH for years) and increasingly I'm winning nothing each month. I know what I should do but I haven't yet! Congrats to the big winners on here - you give us hope!

£175 on FH, which is much bigger than our usual £25. Very pleased.

I posted this on the other thread too, but I had my first win. I won £100 with £1,495 holdings. Very happy with that!

2 x £25 on FH = £50.00

Would you believe that I actually forgot this morning?! It wasn't until I'd finished my first cup of tea that I remembered. After entering our numbers on the Prize checker NS&I page - with a raised heartbeat and holding my breath - the outcome is the irrational disappointment of one £100 prize between all of us. Glad of that of course, definitely better than nothing, but such an anti-climax after another month of irrational hope. Our first year of PBs was not good. So far this second year we've had four ok but disappointing months and three very disappointing months. If you see a woman walking around with the grey cloud of doom over her head today, say hello as it will be me!

Congratulations though to all our big, happy and satisfied winners this month - you help to keep the rest of us hoping! Solidarity, hard cheese and better luck next time to those joining us this month in the PBIDAF (irrational disappointment and fury) club. Only a month to go before we do it all again...

Thanks as ever to @Blondeshavemorefun for the new thread.