Two lucky NS&I Premium Bond winners will won the jackpot this month as July winners are announced.
The two jackpot winners - who will get a visit from Agent Million - are from Staffordshire and Norfolk and are now millionaires after winning the National Savings & Investments Premium Bond £1 million jackpot.
This month, the first Bond number drawn by ERNIE (the software that picks the winning bond numbers) was 493HK711899, held by a winner based in Staffordshire. The winner has £48,750 in Premium Bonds and purchased their winning Bond in March 2022. This win makes them the fifth millionaire from Staffordshire.
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The second Premium Bonds millionaire is based in Norfolk and holds Bond number 246DR645231. The winner has £20,000 in Premium Bonds and purchased their winning Bond in May 2015.
As well as the jackpot winners, more bond holders can expect to win a prize as the Premium Bonds prize fund rate was upped to 3.7% this month - the highest in 15 years – meaning more higher value prizes are up for grabs, with 142 £50,000 prizes and 71 £100,000 prizes.
Sally Swait, NS&I retail assistant director, said: “This is the highest rate the prize fund has been in over 15 years, meaning this month we paid out a total of 5 million prizes worth over £374 million. The Premium Bonds prize fund is going up again for the August draw too, with the odds improving as well, meaning more wins and more excitement each month for savers up and down the country.”
July 2023 NS&I Premium Bond winners
In the July 2023 prize draw, a total of 5,061,349 prizes worth £374,539,700 will be paid out. There were 121,472,335,344 Bond numbers eligible for the draw. Since the first draw in June 1957, there have been 631 million prizes with a total value of £26.4 billion.
| Value of prize | Number of prizes |
|---|---|
| £1,000,000 | 2 |
| £100,000 | 71 |
| £50,000 | 142 |
| £25,000 | 283 |
| £10,000 | 709 |
| £5,000 | 1,418 |
| £1,000 | 14,981 |
| £500 | 44,943 |
| £100 | 1,746,622 |
| £50 | 1,746,622 |
| £25 | 1,505,556 |
| Total £374,539,700 | Total 5,061,349 |
Premium Bond prize rate to increase again
Many high street banks have upped savings rates on the back of the rising base rate and last week, NS&I announced that from the August 2023 draw the Premium Bonds prize fund rate will increase to 4.00%, with the odds of winning improving from 24,000 to 1 to 22,000 to 1.
NS&I estimates that the changes will see an extra £30 million added to the prize fund from August, with an estimated 460,000 extra prizes up for grabs.
The interest rates that NS&I pays on its Direct Saver and Income Bonds are also increasing to 3.40% from 2.85%, effective from 13 July. NS&I will also be increasing the interest rate that it pays on its Investment Account to 0.85% from 0.60%.
Dax Harkins, NS&I chief executive, said: “Premium Bonds are one of the nation’s favourite savings products and I’m delighted that we’re able to improve the odds to the best they have been in almost 15 years, with more prizes, more excitement and more life changing wins for savers up and down the country.
“These changes will benefit millions of NS&I’s savers who have money in Premium Bonds, Direct Saver and Income Bonds,” he said.
How to check if you are a July Premium Bond winner
You can see if you won in the July prize draw using the nsandi.com prize checker or the official prize checker app, available on either Android or iOS.
You will need your Premium Bonds holder’s number to use the website and your NS&I number or holder’s number to check via the prize checker app.
You can also use your Alexa-enabled device so check if you’ve won. Alexa will be able to tell you whether you have won a prize and how much it's worth, as well as details for any upcoming draws.
It can also tell you if you have any prizes yet to be redeemed, such as a £25 prize from July 1968, which remains unclaimed.
To get it set up, you’ll need to activate the NS&I Premium Bonds prize checker skill on your Alexa app and enter your NS&I number. After that, you will be able to use your smart speaker to stay updated on all things Premium Bonds.
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