Premium Bond Winner ?

ljayljay

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81987554#Comment_81987554

Yes it is a great feeling to get such a win.

In January I won £1,050... not complaining but brought back down to earth since with subsequent wins of £50, £25 & this month £0....at least now it can only go back up again....

Mrs_Trellis_of_North_Wales

£30000 holding

May £200 (1x£100, 2x£50)
April £250 (2x£100, 2X£25)
March £125 (1x£100, 1x£25)
February £0
January £50 (1x£50)
December £25 (1x£25)
November £200 (2x£100)

Happy with the last couple of months

pbryd

2026: Full holding

Jan: £250
Feb: £200
Mar: £ nil
Apr: £150
May £50

Total: £650

Only £50 this month. That's 1.3% so far this year on full holding.

S_uk

Has anyone had their prizes paid for the May draw? For some reason I was expecting it today but nothing paid into my account, so I'm guessing it'll be next week now.

Kim_13

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81991013#Comment_81991013

I never expect prizes on a Friday. Even if the number of days post the draw suggests they might be, not paying on a Friday means another 3 days interest in their account rather than ours. At least this month the bank holiday is a reason for the delay (prizes are usually paid on the 10th at the latest but will now be the 11th.)

nigelholl2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81991013#Comment_81991013

I can see the payment as pending on First Directs website, so I'm guessing it will be Monday

Justsayit7

Premium bonds rate up from July, from 3.30% to 3.80%

Pelagonium4

The Daily Mail called it right then. They said yesterday they expected rates to go up because so many had cashed in their bonds due to poor returns and NS&I weren’t pulling in enough cash. (Still not a great rate though - any bets on it going up again?) 🤔

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81998542#Comment_81998542

The Daily Mail insists on putting its own spin on the number of bonds in circulation, which nudged down from 136.9 billion to 136.8 billion last month, i.e. a tiny inconsequential dip of 0.07%, but they prefer "Savers voted with their feet when the prize rate reduced, with £100million taken out of the bonds in April"!

Likewise NS&I always has a new net financing target each financial year and calibrates its rates accordingly…

zagfles

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81998632#Comment_81998632

The MSE article says basically the same thing

"In May 2026, the total number of eligible bonds in the monthly prize draw fell for the first time since June 2023 – suggesting that some savers had started to cash in their bonds following the cuts."

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/05/premium-bonds-prize-rate-rise-july/

It's pretty significant for the total bonds held to fall, even by an "inconsequential" £100 million. That'll be net outflows anyway, considering many people inc me automatically invest winnings into more bonds the actual outflows though people cashing in bonds will be far more.