Two Premium Bonds holders have had a very happy start to the year, taking home an £1million jackpot in the January draw. The big prize winners for the first draw of the year have been announced. The first £1million prize was won by a person from Liverpool with winning Bond 492XB861312, which they purchased in March 2022, when they bought £18,025 in Bonds. They previously held £37,025 in total.
The second top prize winner goes out to a person from Gloucestershire with winning Bond 601RW421962, which they purchased in November 2024, when they bought £17,480 in Bonds. They previously held the maximum £50,000 in Bonds.
NS&I has reduced the prize fund rate to four percent from the January draw, with the odds of winning at 22,000 to one. Several winners took home big prizes in the first prize draw of the year despite previously having very low holdings.
One £50,000 winner from Cornwall previously had just £100 in Bonds while one person from North East Scotland also won £50,000 despite only having £250 in Bonds.
Another lucky saver from Cambridgeshire who had just £20 in holdings took home £10,000. They purchased their winning Bond 55 years ago, in January 1970, when they purchased £3 in Bonds. Winning Bonds are chosen at random so each £1 Bond has an equal chance of being selected for a prize.
Many customers set up their account so whenever they win a prize, the funds are automatically reinvested in buying more Bonds, thus increasing their chances of winning again.
Cash prizes range from the £1million jackpot to £25. You can check if you have any prizes to collect using the prize checker tool on the NS&I website.
In light of the win rate being slashed, customers may be wondering if Premium Bonds are still right for them. Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown, issued a warning about the drawbacks of the saving scheme.
She said: “The Bonds offer a decent prize rate of four percent, but because of the lumpy way those prizes are awarded, the average bond holder won’t take anything like this away.
“In fact, in the average month, they’ll win nothing. It means that after inflation, there’s a real chance you’re losing money. The longer you hold the bonds for, the bigger an impact it can have.”
Due to the impact of inflation, the £1million jackpot is worth much lower than what it was when it was first introduced in April 1994. To keep up with the rise in prices, it would now have to have be worth £2,734,618.
