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 😄

@Blondeshavemorefun no big wins. Just small average ones. The money is in accounts under our names. We are gradually moving it across to a LISA for her for a house deposit, but that’s only at £4k per year. My daughter knows and is happy with the arrangement.

Seems % is dropping again and odds will be 23000 to 1

https://moneyweek.com/personal-finance/savings/premium-bonds-prize-fund-rate-cut-nsandi-odds

That will be the lowest rate since April 2023. I may some of my FH into my cash ISA in the summer as the rate when I started with PB’s was 4.65% at the end of 2023, so it’s increasingly feeling not worthwhile to have the FH there with the new financial year on its way and one last opportunity to maximise cash ISA’s for those of us under 65.

That's a shame about the dropping rate, not sure I'm fussed about more £25 prizes - I want my big win!

I remember when the minimum prize was £50, bet that seemed a lot then. Just checked and its equivalent to about £125 now. Prizes are not keeping up with inflation!

Hello if my daughter can get money into pb now will they go in for the April draw ?

Wow at 4.65%. The rates quoted there, dropping from 3.6 to 3.3% seem fairly similar to many of those on cash ISAs at the moment - I'm getting a slightly better rate for now but I'm going for a compromise balance of accessibility and interest rate, rather than the top rates available

If I were in your situation, I think I would go for moving some money to a cash ISA. I'm not in a position to pay maximum amounts into any kind of savings account at the moment, and knowing I can get at money if I or my kids need it is important.

Yes

In for my nearly last check in before withdrawal.
New tax year, new allowance lol.

Ours started so well but last few months were dissapointing and with the news....
It's fun "lottery" , but sadly goodbyes will be said

May be looking at a few blanks🤨🤦‍♀️

Last day today to buy bonds that are eligible for April.

How do you know if you have won anything? Do they automatically email you or do you have to check each month and then claim it?

You get notified. Though im usually awake at midnight checking the wins.

We’re taking a good chunk out to pay off the mortgage next week. I don’t think I’ll bother with PBs again. The prizes, the odds.

@Wellfuckme The notification comes by either email or text - depending on your preference when you set up your account.

Is there any point of me buying £400 bonds today if I know I'll have to withdraw it in about 3 weeks?

No, as they need to be in for a full calendar month before they're eligible for the draw.

Today is AM Eve and the last chance to buy PBs for the April draw. It must be time for the final countdown:

Last month there was a £10k win and a £50k win here. Who fancies going 1 step further and securing £1m or £100k?

I'd happily take one for the team! 😜

I was the £10,000 winner.
I feel like I’m on a roll now, very happy to give it another whirl!
although would be delighted if someone else on here gets a big win 🎉
good luck team!

Have you decided how to spoil yourself?

I'd treat my DC to a flight to Australia they're saving for, get a very expensive bag I've wanted for years and a couple of holidays for me & DH.

Make the most of looking at your prize picture in the app before it disappears

I would love £10k

I completely agree.

I would be happy for all £25s to be binned off and turned into more £100s and £500s.

Nobody plays premium bonds for the small winnings.

I've always wanted the bigger prizes to be split e.g 154 prizes of £50k instead of 77 prizes of £100k (but keep the two £1 million prizes). Although I don't know how the prize rate is worked out, from a PR perspective having more prizes may be advantageous for NS&I to keep the money coming in, especially now the prize rate is pretty low so my assumption is that more people will be cashing in rather than buying.

Agree on price distribution!

Tho the £25 are nice for a treat of Chinese etc