Two lucky Premium Bonds holders in the south of England have just become millionaires. The first winning bond number of the million-pound prize is 513VQ281226 to a bondholder in West Sussex.
The second winning bond number of a million-pound prize is 441BK932039 to a bondholder in Hampshire.
The West Sussex winner holds £50,000 in Premium Bonds and purchased their winning Bond in September 2022, making them the thirteenth jackpot winner from their county.
The Hampshire winner also holds £50,000 in Premium Bonds and purchased the winning Bond in February 2021.
Andrew Westhead, NS&I retail director, commented: “Congratulations to our £1million jackpot winners from West Sussex and Hampshire, who can now start planning what to do with their tax-free winnings.
“With a total prize pot of £451million this month, we’ve awarded Premium Bond holders with over 5.8 million prizes ranging from £25 to £1 million. This month, two winners with a holding of £100 won a prize of £100,000, showing that every bond counts.”
Two Premium Bonds holders from this month’s draw show that smaller holdings can still win big.
Two bondholders, from South West Wales and Leeds, scooped a £100,000 prize with only £100 invested in Premium Bonds.
One of the winners purchased the winning bonds in December 2023, meaning they only had to wait three months for their big win.
Nearly six million prizes worth £451,947,650 will be paid out in the March 2024 prize draw.
NS&I Premium Bonds work as a savings account that offers account holders the chance to win extra cash, tax-free, at the start of every month through randomly generated prize draws.
Prizes are split into three value bands – higher, medium, and lower – and each band receives a percentage share of the monthly prize fund.
Prizes in the higher band range from £1million (only two of these can be won) to £5,000, while the medium and lower bands award people the chance to win between £1,000 and £500, and £100 and £25, respectively.
NS&I reduced the prize fund rate for Premium Bonds from 4.65 percent to 4.4 percent from the March 2024 draw. However, the odds of any £1 Bond number winning a prize remain at 21,000 to one.
How to check if you’ve won a Premium Bonds prize
Premium Bonds holders can easily check if they’ve won a prize in the March draw from Saturday, March 2, by checking the NS&I website, the prize checker app, or simply asking Alexa.
To check on the NS&I website, customers will need to have their Premium Bonds holder’s number ready, while for the prize checker app, they’ll need their NS&I number or holder’s number. People can also check for any unclaimed prizes owed to them.
While Premium Bonds prize winners will receive notifications of their winnings if they have registered their contact details, there are instances where customers relocate or forget to update their contact details with NS&I.
This can lead to unclaimed prizes, especially for those who opt to receive their prizes via cheque rather than bank transfer.
Taking the locations of the jackpot winners, there are currently 34,312 prizes worth £1,131,800 that are yet to be claimed in West Sussex. The oldest unclaimed prize is worth £25 and is from the April 1962 draw. The largest unclaimed prize in West Sussex is worth £5,000 and was from the March 2007 draw.
In Hampshire, there are 64,797 unclaimed prizes worth £2,132,025. The oldest unclaimed prize is worth £25 and is from the August 1963 draw. The largest unclaimed prize in Hampshire is also worth £5,000 and is from the January 2019 draw.
According to NS&I, the best way to ensure prizes are claimed is for savers to opt to have them paid directly into their bank account or automatically reinvested into more Bonds. Savers can find out how to do this here.
