Two lucky premium bond holders have each won a £1m jackpot in NS&I’s June prize draw, but if your numbers haven’t come up for a while there is a new alternative prize draw you could try.
The jackpot winners are from Leicester and Cleveland, while five other winners received the next-best prize of £100,000.
Here, Which? reveals the winning premium bond numbers and looks at whether you have a better chance of winning with an alternative prize draw, including the newly launched Nationwide Member Prize Draw.
June 2021 premium bond prize winners
This month, the two £1m prizes went to premium bond holders in Leicester and Cleveland.
The woman from Leicester purchased her winning bond number (404XK887196 ) in July 2020 as part of an overall holding of £50,000.
The second jackpot-winning bond number (147TV114992) belongs to a woman from Cleveland. It was purchased in November 2008, and is part of an overall holding of £41,450.
- Find out more: what is NS&I?
How many winners were drawn in June?
There were 3,167,726 premium bond prizes given out in the June prize draw, worth a total of £91,072,050. Of these, 3,160,254 were worth £100 or less.
| Value of prize | Number of prizes |
| £1,000,000 | 2 |
| £100,000 | 5 |
| £50,000 | 10 |
| £25,000 | 21 |
| £10,000 | 52 |
| £5,000 | 102 |
| £1,000 | 1,820 |
| £500 | 5,460 |
| £100 | 29,607 |
| £50 | 29.607 |
| £25 | 3,101,040 |
Source: NS&I
Are premium bonds still worth it?
Three-quarters of premium bond holders are getting a poor deal, according to analysis from The Telegraph.
Using a Freedom of Information request, it found 15.9m out of 21.4m premium bond customers have not won a prize since NS&I’s records began in 2007.
Sadly, the chances for these unlucky savers to win in future draws are even more unlikely. That’s because NS&I cut the odds of winning a premium bonds prize in December from 34,500 to 1 from 24,500 to 1.
However, premium bonds do still have some advantages. You can save up to £50,000 and your money is 100% backed by the Treasury. Cash saved in premium bonds can also be withdrawn at any time, and all prizes are tax-free.
- Find out more: premium bonds explained
Premium bond alternatives
If your numbers haven’t come up in a while and you don’t fancy your chances with the longer odds, here are some alternatives you might want to consider.
Please note we haven’t included Family Building Society’s Windfall Bond which allows you to earn interest and enter a monthly prize draw to win up to £50,000 as it is closed to new savers. However, if you’ve already invested, the regular monthly draw will continue as normal.
Nationwide’s Member Prize Draw
What is it? A new monthly prize draw that gives Nationwide members a chance to share a prize fund of £1m each month. The first draw takes place in September. It’s been launched following the success of the building society’s savings-focused prize draws over the last year such as its 18-month Mutual Reward Bond.
How do you enter? Members aged 18 or over with a Nationwide mortgage, savings or current account are automatically entered each month unless they opt out.
How much can you win? £100,000, £25,000, £10,000 or £100.
What are the odds? Nationwide says it currently has around 14.2 million members eligible for the first Member Prize Draw, which would mean the odds of winning a prize are around 1 in 1,750. However, these odds will change from month to month depending on the final number of members eligible for entry. Nationwide says everyone will have an equal chance of winning a prize as each of the society’s eligible members will get one entry per month.
Is it available throughout the UK? The Member Prize Draw is only available to eligible members in England, Scotland, and Wales.
Other terms? Those with a business savings account or mortgage taken out via The Mortgage Works are not eligible for the monthly draw. Nationwide has only committed to running the Member Prize Draw for 12 months so far, so it might not be around for the long term.
Nationwide’s Start to Save account
What is it? Launched in February 2020, this is an instant-access regular saver that pays 1% AER, aimed at those who have fallen out of the savings habit.
How do you enter? You need to save between £50 and £100 a month for the three calendar months leading up to the quarterly prize draw.
How much can you win? £100.
What are the odds? These vary between draws, as prizes are calculated at 1% of the total balance increases of all Start to Save accounts since the previous draw. So, if 50,000 savers pay in £50 for three months (£150 each in total), there would be a prize draw fund of £75,000, meaning 750 prizes of £100.
Is it available throughout the UK? Savers must live in England, Scotland or Wales.
Other terms? Account has a 24-month term.
Halifax and Bank of Scotland’s Savers Prize Draw
What is it? Every month, £550,000 of prizes are handed out to those who maintain a total savings balance of at least £5,000.
How do you enter? Hold at least £5,000 of savings in any qualifying Halifax or Bank of Scotland account for a full calendar month. You can register even if you don’t yet have £5,000 saved – you’ll be automatically added to the prize draw once your savings reach the required amount.
How much can you win? £100,000, £1,000 or £100.
What are the odds? They change depending on how many entries are received and qualify. On average, 1,603 prizes are handed out every month.
Is it available throughout the UK? Entrants must live in England, Scotland or Wales.
Other terms? Any savings in joint accounts will be split equally and account holders will need to register separately. Entrants must be aged 18 or over.
- Find out more: how to find the best savings accounts
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/2021/06/premium-bond-winners-in-june-2021-should-you-try-a-new-prize-draw-with-better-odds/