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 😄

Thanks. I’ve decided that I’m going to make sure that I have enough to top up my measly holdings by the minimum amount each month so have just set up a standing order 🤞🏻🤞🏻

Sadly I'm going to have to withdraw some of my money this weekend but will still have a reasonable amount in for the draw!

4 Nov is a disappointingly long way away

My husband wants to end our premium bonds journey. I can completely see his point of view, as we hold more easy access cash than necessary, but I don’t feel ready to give up the dream yet 😢. Hopefully we’ll get a good win this time to convince him we should keep going 🤞

Our 3-day PB rollercoaster ride starts with AM Day on 2 Nov though. A bit better.

What’s the dream though?

How much have you won over the last eg 5 years?

If you had that money invested in a global tracker over that period, you may have had returns of 30-40%.

@MidnightPatrol the dream is the life changing million.

Over the last 5 years we are down about £1000 in total from what you would win if you were getting the advertised rate per draw. If I compared against my investment growth that loss would be much much higher. I know my husband is right, I’m just sad to think that I‘ve got decades more of routine and work, which would be without that little hope that keeps me trudging on.

I don't know what your holdings are but maybe a compromise could be that you move half of it to another investment and leave half in PBs. Then you both get what you want ?

@KitsyWitsy £35k and £37k. I think that would be a good compromise. We like to jointly make all the financial decisions, and I do agree with his pov, but a bit of hope left would be nice.

Congratulations. Enjoy the winnings.

Are we nearly there yet?

Just a week today AM will already have been, hopefully to one or even two of us. It's the final countdown.

MESSAGE ALERT : to the lucky winner of £1,000 on a £650 holding ??

The odds are about 8m : 1 of winning at least £1,000 or higher

You are Indeed , a very Lucky Slice of Strawberry Cheesecake

Yawn. We are all aware of the odds, we know the chances of winning anything substantial or even beating the best interest rates out there are slim to none.

But some of us have:
maxed out our pension contributions
maxed out our isa allowances
have other money in high interest accounts earning above the £1,000 annual tax free limit

and so PBs are a fun way of investing surplus cash, with the added benefit of it being pretty much penalty free instant access.

Yes, I could earn more by investing elsewhere. But I would also be taxed on that income, whether it be investment gains or interest. And the difference in interest vs PB winnings (if I were to put my holdings into an instant access account) would be a few hundred pounds a year - really not worth me worrying about.

And even if other PPs haven’t maxed out ISAs and pensions etc, then so what. Everyone is aware of the odds, and this is meant to be a light hearted thread for those of us that enjoy the “what if?!” every month.

So whilst I’m sure your comments are meant to be helpful rather than patronising, it’s not what this thread is about.

my message was about Strawberry Cheesecake ........

not ......... pension contributions or maxed out isa allowances ??

Yes, but you have previously made comments that suggest you are trying to tell us that PBs are a bad investment.

Or at least I thought you had - my apologies to you if I have got my wires crossed.

I shall be referring to myself as a very lucky slice of strawberry cheesecake henceforth! Would you believe me if I told you that I also won the postcode lottery the same week? Only £15 but I’ve been chasing that third win ever since. It’s just not coming 😬

Thank you for your Kind words ......... and Good Luck for Nov prizes

Hopeful for this next draw.

I can't recall how much I have in PBs now... the second authentication of pressing hash on my phone(s) just does not seem to work! But I think I have around £150 in it. Not much I know, but it will make that big win all the more sweet....... 😆

Yes pb may never win us lots of money but it might and can and has to be someone

I dont think the poster you were replying to meant anything to be patronising. It read to me like a genuine, here are the odds, the person who won £1000 on a £650 holding was indeed very, very lucky because they kind of bet the odds.
Your yawn and long rant comes across as a bit unpleasant towards someone who was genuinely making a comment in a congratulatory way.

Just checked my app, and its 7 days until app results day - think this is the longest month ever!

Checking in for October draw- good luck all 😊

I know like everyone on the thread I really need a win of some sort.

Good luck everyone.

Good luck everyone😁