Two lucky Premium Bond holders hit the million pound jackpot in this month’s National Savings & Investments (NS&I) draw.
Over £25bn in Premium Bond prizes have now been paid out to winners since the first ever draw in 1957.
March’s £1m jackpot winners are from Nottinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
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NS&I increased its Premium Bond rate to 3.30% mid-February, its highest in over 14 years. Thanks to the increase the savings bank will be paying out a record £330m in prizes this month.
The savings bank has bumped up its Premium Bonds rate five times over the last year as it attempts to attract savers. It recently also raised its rates on its Green Savings Bonds and relaunched its one-year fixed bonds with their highest rates since 2010.
This month’s first millionaire winner, based in Nottinghamshire, holds £50,000 in Premium Bonds and bought their winning Bond, number 417YB876187, in October 2022.
The second winner’s Bond number was 319WC638508. The Oxfordshire-based winner holds £30,284 in Premium Bonds and bought their winning Bond over five years ago in January 2018. The win makes them the second millionaire winner to come from Oxfordshire.
NS&I has now paid over £25.1bn in prizes since the first draw in 1957. The number of prices has increased from 23,142 back then to 5,007,989 today.
How to check if you’ve won a Premium Bond prize
You can check to see if you’ve won via the NS&I prize checker, the NS&I’s prize checker app, or even via your Amazon Alexa-enabled device from 2 March.
You need your Premium Bonds holder’s number. If you’ve won the savings bank will either notify you by email or post, so make sure they have the right details.
March 2023 Premium Bond prize breakdown
The March 2023 prize draw will see 5,007,989 prizes worth £330,527,200 paid out to savers. The prize amounts range from £1,000,000 to £25.
| Value of prize | Number of prizes |
| £1,000,000 | 2 |
| £100,000 | 62 |
| £50,000 | 124 |
| £25,000 | 249 |
| £10,000 | 622 |
| £5,000 | 1,242 |
| £1,000 | 13,220 |
| £500 | 39,660 |
| £100 | 1,406,020 |
| £50 | 1,406,020 |
| £25 | 2,140,768 |
| Total: £330,527,200 | Total: £5,007,989 |
Unclaimed premium bond prizes
If you’ve moved or changed your contact details, make sure you change your contact details with NS&I.
If you haven’t, you could have an unclaimed price.
In Nottinghamshire alone there are 19,188 unclaimed prizes worth £573,225. There are nine £1,000 unclaimed prizes won between August 1985 and August 2020.
In Oxfordshire there are 20,417 unclaimed prizes with a total value of £607,125. The largest unclaimed prize is £10,000 and is from the July 2020 prize draw.
The easiest way to make sure you don’t miss out on a prize is to have them automatically paid directly into your bank account.
Premium Bonds vs savings accounts
Premium Bonds’ 3.30% rate outlines the return you’re likely to get if you have average luck, not what you’re guaranteed to earn on your money.
Depending on your luck, you could get a far better return – or none at all.
If you want to make sure you are getting a return on your investments you might want to opt for a savings account instead.
Regular savings accounts are offering the best rates they have in years. First Direct’s regular saver account pays 7% interest. Other top rates include NatWest’s digital regular saver, which pays a rate of 6.17%, and Lloyds Bank Club Monthly Saver pays 6.25%.
Check our list of the best savings accounts of the market right now to know all your options.
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