Premium Bond Winner ?

pbryd

2026: Full holding

Jan: £250
Feb: £200

2026 Total: £450

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81869229#Comment_81869229

Selling and rebuying a block of bonds will reduce your returns on average, by virtue of it making no change at all to your odds of winning with the new ones, while losing a month's entries in the draw.

fuzzzzy

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81869822#Comment_81869822

I completely agree with you. Ironically though the only time I have won an individual prize worth more than £100 (£500) was when I sold 10k and bought 10k back the following month. I won the £500 with a new bond. The reason for selling the 10k was because I needed the money though, not because of any conspiracy theories about new bonds having better odds of winning.

MACKEM99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81868068#Comment_81868068

Probably only has 2🤔

Deedee32123

I won £1,000 on one bond in January (Full holding held for a few years now) which is the most I have ever won! Then in February I didn't win anything 😂

skitskut

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81849972#Comment_81849972

Had a letter from NS&I with an explanation…

"A bond registered in your name has won a prize of £50 instead of £25 in the draw.

We've reallocated this prize because the original winner wasn't eligible to receive it.

This £25 prize payment and the £25 prize payment sent to you in April 2025 amount to the £50 prize."

Now I don't know whether to add this extra £25 prize to the Apr '25 or Jan '26 column in my spreadsheet!? 😂

ljayljay

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81869822#Comment_81869822

Agree...strange that human logic (or should I say illogic) can make probability become so personal whilst forgetting how probability works.

SnowMan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81869100#Comment_81869100

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81868348#Comment_81868348

The probability of winning at least 6 prizes in the February 2026 draw is about 2.9%; it should happen about once every 3 years on current prize fund rate and distribution of prizes.

And you should win at least 9 prizes once every 141 years (on the current prize fund rate/distribution)

Here is the percentage chance of winning at least n prizes in a month for n = 1 to 10 (on the current prize fund rate/distribution)

And this is the corresponding percentage chance of winning exactly n prizes in a month for n = 0 to 10 (on the current prize fund rate/distribution)

badger09

Fanfare and drum roll please.
This morning I learned that I have won my 1st ever Premium Bond prize
Several years ago I posted here that I’d held £18 worth of Bonds, bought for me as a young child in December 1956. Some kind person calculated my chance of winning. It was too small to contemplate but I kept the bonds for sentimental reasons
Only yesterday when my husband said he had won nothing this month, I pointed out, tongue in check, that my bonds were as good as his but I’d never won anything.

My happiness with the £100 prize bears absolutely no relation to the amount😊

BooJewels

I'm absolutely delighted for you @badger09 - I can totally get your joy.

I had £6 from when I was born, that they added to my on-line account, but they went when I cashed some in, as the oldest go first and it didn't warrant the additional work of a paper application. I seem to remember that I won something small as a child, as I got something new (can't remember the details), but nothing since. But small long-term holdings do pop up in the big winners list every month.