Premium Bond Winner ?

Stargunner

South_West_saver said:

I bought max holding of 50k in Feb 2021 and was not eligible for draws till April. From 22 draws, winnings have been £1075. On 6 of the 22 months, including today, I've won nothing. My maths is rubbish so please be kind if I get anything wrong here, but an online calculator tells me that's an annual return of only 1.17%. The checking if you've won is mildly exciting each month but not worth it at this rate of return!

When I bought, interest rates were all much lower - but I'm now moving out. I may keep a few, but the majority of it is going into a 2 yr ISA at 4.11% fixed, the "rainy day" money into a limited-access account for 3.25% variable, and anything spare into an ISA in next financial year.

For the sake of comparison, if I'd had 50k at 3.25% for the last 22 months that would have earned me £2979 - an extra £1904.

You would not have been able to get anywhere near 3.25% in an instant access account 22 months ago, so you can hardly use that as a comparison.

JGal

IdrisJazz said:

Well the improved odds paid off for me this month.....

Odds are still one in 24,000 of winning a prize, the same as last month. It's the prize values that have increased on average. 

Slinky

Primrose said:

"PB wins are tax free and invisible to HMRC just like ISAs. They don't count towards your Personal Allowance or your Personal Savings Allowance"

Yes I understand that but if you were to leave a million pounds fully invested in a savings account for a period while you ponder what to do with it, that surely then becomes YOUR  interest income and that is taxable? 

If paying some tax on the interest from a million pound win is likely to be a problem for you, send them my way if they come knocking on your door.

South_West_saver

Stargunner said:

You would not have been able to get anywhere near 3.25% in an instant access account 22 months ago, so you can hardly use that as a comparison.

   Yes, of course. Perhaps instead I should have said it shows what I'd be losing from now on, if winnings stayed about the same. Savings rates were so low at the time that, unusually, PBs could potentially match what you could get elsewhere, but that doesn't apply now.

Stargunner

South_West_saver said:

Stargunner said:

You would not have been able to get anywhere near 3.25% in an instant access account 22 months ago, so you can hardly use that as a comparison.

   Yes, of course. Perhaps instead I should have said it shows what I'd be losing from now on, if winnings stayed about the same. Savings rates were so low at the time that, unusually, PBs could potentially match what you could get elsewhere, but that doesn't apply now.

Winnings are hardly likely to stay the same going forward, because.the premium bond rate was only 1% for the majority of the time that you held them and it is now 3%. They can match what you can get elsewhere for readily accessible money and they are not taxable.

TadleyBaggie

My wife have had our joint holding of £80K in for exactly 12 months, in that time we have won £1525. So just under 2% by my reckoning.

Wilbur11

1 x £100 + 1 x £25 for me =£125 and 2 x £50 + 3 x £25 = £175 for other half this month.  We both hold the max 50k each.  Not too bad 😊

RedImp_2

Are the E-mails all issued same time?  I don’t use prize checker but no e-mail at time of writing.

TadleyBaggie

Emails are always a couple of days after the draw.

Reddleman79

£150 from a full holding. It makes up for the dry December!