First time’s the charm: January 2019’s lucky maiden Bonds
The first millionaires of the new year were revealed earlier this month , but we wanted to take a look at some of the prize-winning numbers that were generated by ERNIE at the first time of asking.
In 2018, two of the 24 millionaires won with Bonds that were eligible to win prizes for the first time , including one Premium Bonds customer whose win came in his first ever draw.
But what about some of the smaller prizes?
We looked at January’s draw data for some answers into this month’s results.
Over 50,000 winning numbers at the first time of asking
In order to be able to win prizes in a Premium Bonds draw, the Bonds must be held for at least one full calendar month, or be a reinvested prize from the previous month’s draw.
In total, 53,815 prizes were won by people whose Bonds were eligible to win for the first time - in January 2019.
Out of these, 13,014 were won by new Premium Bonds account holders, who invested for the very first time in November 2018. One person’s first ever draw won them £25,000, while ERNIE generated a £10,000 win for another first-timer.
A further 39,935 prizes went to people who increased their Premium Bonds holdings in November 2018, giving themselves a better chance of winning a prize in January’s draw – a decision that has already proven successful for them, especially as there were 35 of those prizes were worth £1,000 or more.
Reinvesting for immediate success
Reinvesting prizes is a popular choice for many customers, and almost 800,000 prizes from December 2018’s draw were reinvested into their winners’ accounts.
When you choose to reinvest your prizes, they become eligible on the very next draw, and in January 2019, 866 prizes, ranging from £25 to £1,000 went to people who had last experienced that winning feeling just a month earlier.
The fun way to save – how Premium Bonds can help you stick to your new year’s resolutions
Many of us have made resolutions for 2019 to save more prudently throughout the next 12 months, which is often a great way to start a life-long habit.
NS&I is aiming to inspire a stronger savings culture across the country, and that can be achieved in a few simple steps, including setting up a standing order from £50 per month into Premium Bonds. This relatively small saving each month would generate £600 of savings in one year, and could well be boosted by any prizes that these Bonds might win.
As was confirmed in the Autumn Budget in October last year, customers will be able to make a minimum investment of £25 into Premium Bonds, as well as reducing the minimum monthly standing order to just £25 as well. This improvement to Premium Bonds will come into effect by the end of March 2019.
Find out about the upcoming enhancements to Premium Bonds.
Are there any hidden gems to help boost your savings?
There are still over 1.5 million Premium Bonds prizes yet to be claimed by their owners. This amounts to over £60 million waiting to be paid out to the rightful winners.
You can find out whether you might have any prizes due to you by checking online , via the NS&I prize checker page, by calling our 24-7 contact centre on 08085 007007, or by writing in with your Premium Bonds holder’s number and account information to:
NS&I
Glasgow
G58 1SB
The more details you can provide, the better the chances of us helping to find any unclaimed prizes owed to you.