Premium Bonds saver won £1million months after buying Bonds - what are the odds of winning?
Premium Bond holders have the chance to win £25 up to £1million each month
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April’s Premium Bonds prize draw saw one lucky Briton scoop a £1million jackpot just months after buying the winning bond.
Each month, two savers will become millionaires no matter when they purchased the Bond, and how much they have invested into Premium Bonds.
One of this month’s lucky winners, from Highlands and Islands in Scotland, bought the bond 553BS622775 in September 2023.
This made them the second jackpot millionaire from the Highlands and Islands.
The total amount they have invested into Premium Bonds is £32,675.
This is not the only instance when high value winners have not held their winning Bond for a long period.
Kathleen Carr was a £500 prize winner in the first ever Premium Bonds draw over 50 years ago
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April’s prize draw saw one saver win £100,000 with a bond also purchased less than a year ago.
Their winning bond - 548LC218998 – was purchased in August 2023.
The winner, from Buckinghamshire, has invested almost £50,000 in Premium Bonds.
Similarly, another saver won £100,000 after a total investment of £50,000 into Premium Bonds.
They bought the winning bond in December 2023.
Another winner, from Northumberland, purchased their Bond in July 2023. They were able to secure a £100,000 prize with their winning Bond 546CP328633.
Premium Bonds prizes range from £25 up to £1million.
Prizes are tax-free and split into three value bands - higher, medium, and lower. Each band receives a percentage share of the monthly prize fund.
The prize fund rate for Premium Bonds was reduced to 4.4 per cent from the March 2024 draw.
However, the odds of any £1 Bond number winning a prize remain the same at 21,000 to one.
The NS&I advisor website explains that each £1 Bond number has an equal chance of winning, regardless of when or where it was bought.
NS&I wrote: “Over 97 per cent of eligible Bonds have been bought since the year 2000.
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Prizes are tax-free and split into three value bands - higher, medium, and lower
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“So even though Premium Bonds have been on sale for over 60 years, this is why newer Bonds seem to win more frequently.
“When ERNIE randomly generates winners, it doesn’t store any numbers, so there’s no way any Bonds can be left out.
“In 2015 the £1 million jackpot was won by a customer with only a £400 holding, who bought them in 2008!”
“The only thing that can increase your chances of winning is holding more Premium Bonds – but holding them in sequence won’t make any difference.”