PREMIUM BONDS APRIL 2026 (title edited by MNHQ at request of OP)

[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 £1800 in prizes at 3.6%

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://pbprizes.com/calculator/

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, we had the highest 4.65% But it has been steadily falling since, and of August 2025 it’s 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

But

£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 £1800 (3.6% 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

Winnings divided by amount have x 100

So say over the year 450 on fh ,1700 on fh and £25 on £1000

450 / 50000 x 100 =.9% so bad

1700/50000 x 100=3.4% so good

25/1000x100=2.5% so an average return

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& date of birth

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 😄

@JollyHostess101I’ve just DM you with the link! Enjoy! Easiest £20 you can make!

No.

No - each premium bond is £1 with a minimum purchase of 25 bonds (£25). Each £1 bond has a unique number that is entered into the draw. So, like a raffle, the more raffle tickets (bonds) you buy, statistically the more likely you are to win a prize. The odds of each £1 bond winning any prize is about 1 in 23,000. But then of course luck, chance and Sod’s Law come into play!

Do the others have £20k each like you? If so then the prizes are only won on luck.

Im joining the PB party! This will be the first month ill be in the draw, very excited and obviously convinced im winning the million!

Has anyone on these threads ever won the million or the 100k!?

My idea of heaven. I'm sitting in a hotel lounge with a sea view & a good book, with a 1000 dot to dot book upstairs

Still a good idea to start thinking about an ISA for 2026/27. I really like my Nationwide accounts (and the Fairer Share payouts) and have a system set up for managing my money which really works for me, but there are better rates available on fixed rate ISAs, and I've just noticed that there isn't a new version of the triple access 1 year variable rate ISA that I've been using available. I'm hoping they bring it back before my current one runs out! I don't want to commit to investments or lock away my money too much because there are many reasons to think I might need to be able to use some of it in the next year or two or three....

I don't think PBs have to be either/or - for me they're almost certainly not my best option and I think it's quite unlikely that I will ever have full holdings. I have a little over 10% of total in my Premium Bonds, am a little bit ahead of what I would have got in a cash savings account after 2 years, and my luck may or may not hold for a 3rd year.

I'm annoyed with the PB admin people. I submitted the online form to cash in some specific bonds and I ticked the box to delay it until after this next draw. What have they actually done? They've immediately cashed in one block of bonds and they have done absolutely nothing with the other block of bonds. It means I have a) lost those chances to win something in the next draw and b) probably won't get the money now in time (from the block they've ignored my request for) for what I need it for as I'm going to have to fill in another cash-in form. I'm used to filling in the online form and I always double-check it, so I know I filled it in correctly. PB admin do not appear to be the best. They still haven't found my missing bonds from my childhood.

That's rubbish service@PremiumBondJovi, sounds like someone has really messed up there. (I wish we had a 🤬 react button).

I'd make a formal complaint, for all three aspects including the childhood bonds. They might pay more attention while they're under the spotlight with the current problems about deceased members bonds.

I've just moved some savings into my PB for May's draw, so I now have 10k in there. Hoping for a little win in April, but of course I'll take a big one, unlikely as it is!

How annoying @PremiumBondJovi

What's the latest I could withdraw my bonds so I can still be entered for this month's draw but then also deposit them in an ISA for the start of the new tax year? I'm unsure how the timings will be affected by the bank holiday!

I think it would be really tight. When you withdraw bonds you can tick a box saying “withdraw after the next prize draw” but it can take a week or so for the money to appear in your account.

@sarkcutty Next weekend is Easter, so Friday 3 is Good Friday, and the last working day this tax year is Thursday 2 April. The start of the new tax year is also a bank holiday - Easter Monday on 6 April.

So if "for the start of the new tax year?" means before the end of this tax year, it's probably too late. If you mean that you want to use your ISA allowance for 2026/27, I think it's already too late to get money in for the first day of the new tax year, but I don't think there's a real difference between the very start of the tax year and the next day/week/month in practical terms. It probably means that you will receive annual interest/interest on maturity of a longer rate fix, next tax year, but as your interest in an ISA isn't taxable it doesn't count towards your tax allowances - or for declaring income on kids' student finance applications.

If you're aiming for a particular ISA offer at a good rate and on terms and conditions that suit your needs, that will be using your allowance for next tax year (26/27) then check how long you have to fund it with your money withdrawn from Premium Bonds, as good offers are often available just for a few days/weeks. If you have a few days, up to 2 weeks to fund it, it might be worth opening it now.

Just opened a Zopa account 👍 so will do the regular saver for the next six months. Have been looking at investing but don’t really want to tie my money up that long. I’d rather chuck it at the mortgage and knock some months off that tbh. I worked out that £250 cuts a month off my term and saves me £73 which might work out better for me. In the short term I think PB is a decent option for me because there’s a good chance I’ll need the money out

April
AM Tue 31
LIST wed 1
APP Thur 2

all starts tomorrow - tho for me I get excited for the list. I know I’m never gonna win the million

I had a regular saver a few years ago with Halifax, lured in by the 5.5% interest rate. What I didn’t realise is that the interest applies to the gradually growing balance not the big amount at the end. And it is gradual, because your monthly deposit amount is usually limited. A fixed term saver or even an easy access saver account may be better for some people:

https://moneyweek.com/personal-finance/savings/easy-access-vs-regular-savings

thank you for the dates.

My house looks like a bomb has hit it and the cleaning lady has a crisis at home. So undoubtedly this will be the time AM is giving me a ring 😂

Thank you! I had better start cleaning the house for AM’s visit.

This is the time I let my thoughts whilst drifting off to sleep at night turn to what I would spend a million or 100,000 or 50,000 on. Ultimately like everyone else by the time Thursday comes along I am grateful to see anything but the ‘better luck next time’ on the app 😂

Thanks @elkiedee ! I've already filled my ISA for 25/26 so it's just to get it in the start of 26/7 (doesn't have to be the 6th exactly but sooner rather than later). Good point about some ISAa only having a limited time limit on offers - I've going to invest in S&S (eek) so pressure on finding the best cash ISA rate. I think I'll withdraw today as if AM is coming tomorrow, that means the draw has already been done. Really hope I get a big win from PB as a farewell! I'll still have a little bit of money in my PB as I couldn't not have something in for the chance of a million!

We used to have a chain and lock on our front gate and I usually set a reminder to myself to unlock it so AM can get to the front door unimpeded but almost always forget.

But it's been stolen (I found out this morning) so - happy days. I'm expecting a kock tomorrow.

• sigh. Knock. No kocks expected.

I'm joining in for the first time too.
Good luck and I will be the big winner Of course 😄

No, nobody's won that much...I think the most won was £100,000.