Premium Bond interest to DROPS from 1.8% to 1% in April & new £25 prize

baby_boomer

Alan Sugar should be hung, drawn & quartered for his appalling adverts for NSI in these circumstances.

Unfortunately these days the only thing that state does to celebreties who are good a deceiving the public is to pay them more .

Who cares if more people invested in NSI in 2008 per month than anywhere else.

That was before the chances of winning in Premium Bonds were more or less taken away.

If you can tie up the money, which most people in PBs can, then go for a 3-4% fixed interest bond instead.

Your "winnings" (interest) are guaranteed!

And your capital is also protected by HMG (Sir Alan please take note, before you get sued for your weasel words in the ad).

NPowerUser wrote: »

I haven't got to win many £25 prizes to thrash the rates offered by my old Nationwide Instant Cash ISA.

Comparing the bad with the worst on offer, hardly sheds light on the best course of action for the average saver .

jamesaberry

0rchidea wrote: »

You have to move the money anyway, you can't keep them in someone else's name. I personally am getting a far better return on PB's than any bank can offer, I hold the max, and have 6 months to March, been averaging 4.5% interest - I'm sticking.

Likewise. My winnings on £30k have averaged £79.17 per month since Dec 2007. It's a challenge between my dad and I to see who wins the most per month - so it's a bit of fun too.

Fella

nrsql wrote: »

That makes them more worthwhile probably.
A good change but too late.
I valued them on the 50 and 100 prizes on the assumption that was all I would probably win. In fact I never won a 100 - but often got multiple 50's in a month.
With the reduction of the number of prizes it became less likely to get any return so I cashed most of them in. Now I might reconsider when I do some calculations but I doubt it.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but on what possible grounds does a huge cut in payout make them MORE worthwhile?

littlemrtinkle

As said earlier, a good savings account will nearly always beat premium bonds, but they still compare very favourably to the national lottery, where if you dont win you lose your original stake as well.

Fella

littlemrtinkle wrote: »

As said earlier, a good savings account will nearly always beat premium bonds, but they still compare very favourably to the national lottery, where if you dont win you lose your original stake as well.

Actually I've seen statistical breakdowns that "prove" that a far better gamble is to invest in the best savings account then spend all the interest on lottery tickets!

Giving you 100% safety on your stake + a better-than-Premium-Bonds chance of hitting the big-time.

Never checked the sums to see if it's true though, although I suspect it may be.

Jimmyc

The odds of winning anything are SO SO low its really not worth it, i had some and in and for the first few months last year i was winning 1/2 x £50 a month, i haven't won anything for about 6/7 months. There still is the 1x £1'000'000 but and a few other good high prizes but the chances of winning them are so slim.If i earned the £25 i wouldn't crack open the champagne. I cashed half mine in last week (got money in account in about 4 working days) and i intend to cash the rest of mine in very soon.

Nick1969

This is the only thing I cant agree with you on Martin, I have £1300 in premium bonds and I win £100 per year.Personally I dont think thats bad at all?

elbe

0rchidea wrote: »

You have to move the money anyway, you can't keep them in someone else's name. I personally am getting a far better return on PB's than any bank can offer, I hold the max, and have 6 months to March, been averaging 4.5% interest - I'm sticking.

I think you'll find that if you 'inherit' bonds you're allowed to keep them in the deceased persons name for a year before you have to move them into your name or cash them in.

James_H

nrsql wrote: »

That makes them more worthwhile probably.

Fella wrote: »

Perhaps I'm missing something, but on what possible grounds does a huge cut in payout make them MORE worthwhile?

I don't think nrsql's point was that a cut in payout is worthwhile. However, given payouts have been cut (along with many other savings interest rates), it may be better to rearrange the prize structure. The new structure would make it more likely to win a prize.

When looking at the return of any individual, especially with a sizeable holding, only whole numbers of prizes can be won. The chances of winning anything greater than £100 are so remote in any year that it may not be worth including them in your expected return. The new structure would not cut your expected return by as much as the payout percentage fall from 1.8% to 1% would suggest.

Francesanne

I've had many regular £50.00 wins & a single £100.00 win over the last 4 years but since last July I've won nothing. I've just cashed a block to pay for new double glazing. Was always hopeful of winning a large prize but my bubble has burst. Not meant to be a million pound winner unfortunately.