The winners are from London and the Highlands and Islands , while 87 other premium bond holders received the next-best prize of £100,000.
Customers are allowed to buy up to £50,000 worth of premium bonds, but when it comes to winning, is more always better?
Here, Which? reveals the winning bond numbers and explores how the amount of premium bonds you buy affects your chances of becoming a millionaire.
April 2024 premium bond winners
The first winning bond ( 256VF976821 ) was bought by a lucky winner living in London, and is part of a total holding of ££45,000. The winning bond was bought in September 2015.
The second winner, from the Highlands and Islands , bought their bond (553BS622775 ) in September 2023. They have a total holding of £32,675.
Find out more:How many winners were drawn in April?
There were 5,878,285 prizes given out in April’s prize draw, worth a total of £452,627,925. Of these, 5,802,665 were worth £100 or less.
Does the size of your holding matter?
Thanks to several boosts to the prize fund rate, the odds of winning any prize have improved considerably recently. This time two years ago, the rate was just 1% and your chances of hitting the jackpot was 34,500 to 1. In June 2022, the rate rose for the first time since December 2017 and hit a high of 4.65% in September 2023. Although it dropped to 4.4% last month, the odds of winning are now 21,000 to 1.
The better odds may have enticed more people to buy premium bonds during that period, with recent data showing the majority of numbers that won £1m in 2023 were bought within the past five years. But while all £1 bonds that enter the prize draw each month have an equal chance of being picked, the more you invest, the greater your chances of walking away with a prize.
For example, you have a one in 602,250,000 chance of bagging the £1m jackpot with a holding of £100, but the odds jump to one in 1,204,502 with the maximum holding of £50,000, according to NS&I.
Which? looked at jackpot winners between April 2022 and March 2024 and found the average amount held by premium bond millionaires is £36,640. We also found that 38% had holdings worth £50,000 - the maximum allowed. The smallest holding, belonging to a winner from January 2023's draw, was £4,625.
So where does that leave customers with more modest investments? Unfortunately, your chances of becoming a millionaire with a tiny holding are depressingly small.
Only one person has ever won the jackpot with less than £25 invested, figures from NS&I show. The lucky person, from Newham in London, held £17 in premium bonds. They also hold the title of winner who waited the longest amount of time to bag the top prize. The lucky premium bond was bought in February 1959 and, incredibly, didn't win the £1m reward until almost 45 and a half years later in July 2004.
In total, there have only been 12 jackpot winners with holdings worth £1,000 or less. The most recent was in January 2015, when someone with £400 invested became a millionaire with a bond bought in August 2008.
Find out more:Many savings accounts offer better returns
While the thrill of a flutter may be reason enough for some people to buy premium bonds, those with only a small amount of cash to invest may be better off opening a savings account that pays guaranteed interest.
Fortunately, you don't need a huge lump sum to get started. Many providers only ask for an opening deposit of £1 and some don't require anything at all.
Below are the best rates available across several types of savings accounts and cash Isas, all of which can be opened with £500 or less.
Savers looking for an account which doesn't require big lump sum to open have plenty of competitive options to choose from. Only three accounts in the table offer rates below average for 1 March 2024 and all are above the current rate of inflation of 3.4%.
The market is dominated by challenger banks and building societies offer the most competitive rates, with shorter-term fixed products boasting the highest interest deals.
Although there has been a slight decrease in fixed-term rates, the Bank of England's ongoing freeze of the base rate means variable-rate accounts continue to hold steady. But, as always, it's a volatile market and savers will need to act fast if they want to grab the best deal before it vanishes.
Find out more:source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/premium-bond-winners-in-april-2024-how-much-do-you-need-to-become-a-millionaire-auxaf4X8emT4