Premium Bonds Question

DoneWorking

After eight consecutive wins on my £50k set o premium bonds I have just had two months with zero wins

Is it worth cashing in my PBs and buying new PBs with the hope of kick starting my winning streak again

Or is this pointless 

With interest rates on easy access savers currently above 4.5% is it better to go for this option 

Ommbiance

The number generator (ERNIE) is random.  It doesn't even pull out bond numbers; rather it generates random strings of characters and sees if they match with an existing bond.  Each bond has an equal chance of winning no matter how old it is (that's the theory anyway).  If you cash in and buy new ones you also miss a month's draw because I'm pretty sure new bonds have to be in for a month before they are eligible.
If you want a steady measurable return then savings are pretty good at the moment. However if you want that bit of excitement on 1st of each month, maybe you should keep them, or at least some of them?

badger09

DoneWorking said:

After eight consecutive wins on my £50k set o premium bonds I have just had two months with zero wins

Is it worth cashing in my PBs and buying new PBs with the hope of kick starting my winning streak again

Or is this pointless 

With interest rates on easy access savers currently above 4.5% is it better to go for this option 

You are guaranteed to receive 4.5% interest (until that rate changes either up or down). That interest is taxable, although you may not be liable to pay tax on it. 

PB winnings are not guaranteed, though if you do win, winnings are not taxable. 

Without more info, it’s impossible to say  whether cashing them in is better for you, but you won’t change your luck by selling & re buying them

jaceyboy

DoneWorking said:

After eight consecutive wins on my £50k set o premium bonds I have just had two months with zero wins

Is it worth cashing in my PBs and buying new PBs with the hope of kick starting my winning streak again

Or is this pointless 

With interest rates on easy access savers currently above 4.5% is it better to go for this option 

I would and I have, looking into fixing 6.10% or more as rates have gone up today, that means £5,500 min per year guaranteed for me

eskbanker

DoneWorking said:

After eight consecutive wins on my £50k set o premium bonds I have just had two months with zero wins

The chances of which were about one in 80, which makes you unlucky but not freakishly so.  Based on the odds applying from this month's draw, any maximum holder should expect a blank month once every ten months.

DoneWorking said:

Is it worth cashing in my PBs and buying new PBs with the hope of kick starting my winning streak again

Or is this pointless

If your question is 'is there any reason to believe that replacement bonds will be luckier' then the answer is emphatically 'no'!

DoneWorking said:

With interest rates on easy access savers currently above 4.5% is it better to go for this option 

However, if your question is 'am I better with a guaranteed 4.5% instead of an 'average luck' return of about 3.45%' then mathematically the answer would probably be yes, although you're likely to have an income tax liability arising from £2,250 of interest that would need to be factored into the evaluation.