Premium Bonds Article Discussion Area

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shanew4874 said:

BooJewels said:

The results are usually available through the web based prize checker after about 23:30 on the day before the published date.  So I'll be checking as I go to bed on Tuedsay night, which is my usual habit.  As @refluxer posted, the published list of big winners is usually available the day before (so Tuesday) if you follow the link lower down the prize checker page where I think it usually something like "check who won in April".

When is the earliest that wins show in your premium bond account? Think I read somewhere that it’s from 8am onwards so that would be this Wednesday after 8am at some point, sounds like I should use the prize checker app but I just log into my NS&I account to see if my account balance has changed and if so by how much 

User the prize checker website https://www.nsandi.com/prize-checker if you don't want to use the app. Wins always show up a couple of days later under PBs in the NS&I account portal

shanew4874

Swipe said:

shanew4874 said:

BooJewels said:

The results are usually available through the web based prize checker after about 23:30 on the day before the published date.  So I'll be checking as I go to bed on Tuedsay night, which is my usual habit.  As @refluxer posted, the published list of big winners is usually available the day before (so Tuesday) if you follow the link lower down the prize checker page where I think it usually something like "check who won in April".

When is the earliest that wins show in your premium bond account? Think I read somewhere that it’s from 8am onwards so that would be this Wednesday after 8am at some point, sounds like I should use the prize checker app but I just log into my NS&I account to see if my account balance has changed and if so by how much 

User the prize checker website https://www.nsandi.com/prize-checker if you don't want to use the app. Wins always show up a couple of days later under PBs in the NS&I account portal

So if I put in my holders number at https://www.nsandi.com/prize-checker the night before 3rd April at say 11.45pm on Tuesday 2nd April? Thanks 

BooJewels

That would work @shanew4874 - I find the prize checker page shows first, some time after about 23:30 the evening before their published date, the app shows a bit later that night and they usually show in my NS&I account as winning bonds the next morning.  Just be mindful that the prize checker page at that initial stage tends to show it as the previous month - it updates after midnight.  So if you win in this next draw, it might show it as March at first, when it's actually April. I then get an email several days later and payment (to an external bank account) usually clears on the 8th or 9th of the month.

shanew4874

BooJewels said:

That would work @shanew4874 - I find the prize checker page shows first, some time after about 23:30 the evening before their published date, the app shows a bit later that night and they usually show in my NS&I account as winning bonds the next morning.  Just be mindful that the prize checker page at that initial stage tends to show it as the previous month - it updates after midnight.  So if you win in this next draw, it might show it as March at first, when it's actually April. I then get an email several days later and payment (to an external bank account) usually clears on the 8th or 9th of the month.

Ok thanks, guess it’s not too difficult to figure out if it’s showing for April even though it states March as long as you know what you won the previous month

shanew4874

Checked on the prize checker site and it states no wins this month, also checked bond account and no change in balance, when it states no wins on the prize checker site does that mean just for the smaller prizes or is that all prizes inc the bigger ones? Only ask as someone on here did state on here somewhere that they received confirmation of a large win a few days after the draw date

eskbanker

shanew4874 said:

Checked on the prize checker site and it states no wins this month, also checked bond account and no change in balance, when it states no wins on the prize checker site does that mean just for the smaller prizes or is that all prizes inc the bigger ones?

Any prizes you'd won in the main draw should be visible on the prize checker by now.

shanew4874 said:

Only ask as someone on here did state on here somewhere that they received confirmation of a large win a few days after the draw date

There is a later 'mop-up' exercise that reallocates a very small number of prizes initially awarded inadvertently to bonds that turn out to be invalid, but that's very much the exception rather than the rule, so if you haven't won any prizes according to what's visible now, then it's overwhelmingly likely that your next chance is the May draw....

shanew4874

eskbanker said:

shanew4874 said:

Checked on the prize checker site and it states no wins this month, also checked bond account and no change in balance, when it states no wins on the prize checker site does that mean just for the smaller prizes or is that all prizes inc the bigger ones?

Any prizes you'd won in the main draw should be visible on the prize checker by now.

shanew4874 said:

Only ask as someone on here did state on here somewhere that they received confirmation of a large win a few days after the draw date

There is a later 'mop-up' exercise that reallocates a very small number of prizes initially awarded inadvertently to bonds that turn out to be invalid, but that's very much the exception rather than the rule, so if you haven't won any prizes according to what's visible now, then it's overwhelmingly likely that your next chance is the May draw....

Ok, thanks for confirming.

10ants

ML seems to have a problem with PBs.   If you are putting in a small amount or are not a higher rate taxpayer then totally agree you should avoid them.  However, if you are a higher rate taxpayer with a lump sum invested, returns on PBs invariably beat bank deposits (certainly variable rate deposits, often also beating 1yr FRBs),  due to the returns being tax-free.
ML over complicates the analysis. 80% of the prize-fund is paid out in lower prizes (25,50,100), if you have 50k invested logically you ARE going to get 'average luck' over time, you ARE going to see an average of 80% of the prize fund as a return over time.
So right now 80% of 4.4% = 3.52% net.  For a 40% taxpayer, that is the same as getting 5.86% on a bank deposit (vs ~5.2% being the best 1yr FRB currently).

I have held PBs for ~15yrs and have tracked the returns.  On a 250k holding (i.e. across a family of 5) I have never failed, in any year, to get less than 80% of the average prize fund as a return.   You might well not achieve this year-on-year record with 50k invested, but over a longer time period, say 5yrs, I would expect you would also hit the average 80% of the %age prize-fund as a return. 

eskbanker

10ants said:

ML seems to have a problem with PBs.   If you are putting in a small amount or are not a higher rate taxpayer then totally agree you should avoid them.  However, if you are a higher rate taxpayer with a lump sum invested, returns on PBs invariably beat bank deposits (certainly variable rate deposits, often also beating 1yr FRBs),  due to the returns being tax-free.

To be fair, the article does make that clear, alongside a table comparing returns with savings accounts, according to tax rates:

So overall, the higher tax band you're in, and the more money you're saving in Premium Bonds, the better a bet they look for you.

MikemseForum

The £50k limit on individual Premium Bond holdings was set in 2015,  with purchaing power equivalent to £75k today.

I asked my MP whether there are any plans to restore the value of the maximum holding or index it.  The reply from the Treasury was negative.  One reason given is that "raising the limit can lead to the scheme becoming dominated by a small number of people with large investments.  NS&I has found from experience that customers are sensitive to taking part in a prixe draw in which some people hold a very large number of bonds.".

Interestingly the reply goes on to state that "NS&I is sensitive to changing the investment limit in a way that disadvantages other banks and firms that offer rates of interest with similar returns to Premium Bonds."  It seems that, by design, Premium Bonds will not compete with other banks.