Third time’s a charm for County Durham, while Bristol sees its fourth consecutive year of jackpot wins as ERNIE shares the Premium Bonds love this February
Now it is his turn to share the love in the form of prizes – over 2.9 million this month. However, the two lucky jackpot winners this February are at diametrically opposite ends of the country as Agent Million will be hand delivering the prizes in person to a man in County Durham and a woman in Bristol.
February’s jackpot winners are the 379th and 380th lucky recipients of Premium Bonds’ top prize.
The County Durham winner has £50,000 invested in Premium Bonds, and his winning Bond (number: 297XK491568) was purchased in March 2017, less than 12 months ago. The winner becomes only the third jackpot prize claimed in County Durham, with the previous win being in April 2014.
The woman from Bristol bought her winning Bond (number: 040YG716639) in March 2003 and currently has £10,000 invested in Premium Bonds. The woman becomes the ninth winner from Bristol, and this prize means that the city has now had a jackpot win each year for the four consecutive years, with the last being in August 2017.
Jill Waters, Retail Director at NS&I, said:
“It is great that two people from opposite ends of England have been able to celebrate February in style, with an unexpected surprise just in time for Valentine’s Day.
“We hope that many other winners will be equally feeling the love from ERNIE with their success this month, having paid out over 2.9 million prizes in February’s draw.”
Customers can find out if they have been successful in this month’s draw by downloading the prize checker app for free from the App Store or Google Play or using the prize checker on nsandi.com. The results will be published in full on Friday 2 February.
ERNIE is a keeper this Valentine’s Day
No matter how old or small, each individual £1 Bond is in with the chance to win one of 2.9 million tax-free prizes we pay out each month ranging from £25 to £1 million.
However, there are many Premium Bond holders who may have forgotten they own or be unaware that they have Premium Bonds, and may have previously won a prize that they don’t know about. In total, there are over 1.4 million unclaimed prizes worth just under £58 million.
In Bristol, there are more than 8,000 unclaimed prizes, totalling over £300,000 and in County Durham, there are over 6,000 prizes, totalling more than £200,000.
The oldest unclaimed prize in Bristol was won by a customer with just £8 invested in Premium Bonds. The prize is worth £25, and was won in the August 1968 prize draw (Bond number: FB266568). The highest unclaimed prize is worth £1,000, and there are eight prizes of this value that remain unclaimed in the city, all held by customers with £200 or less in Premium Bonds.
The highest unclaimed prize in County Durham is also worth £1,000, of which there are ten of these, all held by customers with £100 or less in Premium Bonds. The oldest unclaimed Premium Bonds prize in the county dates back to May 1973 and was won by a man with £100 invested (Bond number: 1VP224105). There is no time limit for claiming Premium Bond prizes.
Jill Waters added:
“Premium Bond prizes often become unclaimed as a result of people moving house and not telling NS&I, or not keeping their details held with us up to date. Agent Million would not be able to deliver the good news if you were lucky enough to win the £1 million jackpot. Last month one of our jackpot winners not only received £1 million but also received outstanding prizes won prior to notifying us of their change of address.
“We are urging Premium Bond holders to reduce the chance of their prizes becoming unclaimed in the future by keeping personal details up to date and registering to manage their Premium Bonds online or by phone and choosing to have any subsequent prizes paid directly into their bank account.”
To check whether they have any unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes, customers can visit the NS&I website at www.nsandi.com, download the prize Checker app for free at the App Store on or Google Play you can write to us at NS&I, Glasgow, G58 1SB asking for your prize history (remember to include your name, address and NS&I number or Premium Bonds holder’s number). We’ll send you a list of the prizes you’ve won.
Receiving your prizes directly to your bank account
By registering to receive prizes by BACS, Premium Bonds winners can have any future prizes paid directly into a nominated bank account.
Over 1.6 million Premium Bonds customers have now registered for this option. To find out more, visit the NS&I website: https://www.nsandi.com/can-my-prizes-be-paid-straight-my-bank-account
February 2018 prize breakdown
In the February 2018 draw, a total of 2,974,335 prizes worth £85,016,375 will be paid out. There were 72,871,198,173 eligible Bonds for the draw.
Since the first draw in June 1957, ERNIE has drawn 392 million winning prizes, to the value of £18 billion.
| Value of prizes | Number of prizes |
|---|---|
| £1,000,000 | 2 |
| £100,000 | 5 |
| £50,000 | 8 |
| £25,000 | 18 |
| £10,000 | 45 |
| £5,000 | 90 |
| £1,000 | 1,700 |
| £500 | 5,100 |
| £100 | 23,322 |
| £50 | 23,322 |
| £25 | 2,920,723 |
| Total prize fund value £85,016,375 |
Total number of prizes 2,974,335 |
Notes to Editors
- NS&I has a wealth of facts and figures (including regional) about Premium Bonds. If you require any further details, please contact the NS&I media team or tweet your question to @nsandi
- You can read more about Premium Bond prize winners at nsandi.com/winning-stories
- All Premium Bond prizes are free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
- NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, offering a range of savings and investments to 25 million customers. All products offer 100% capital security, because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.
- The annual Premium Bonds prize fund rate is currently 1.40% and the odds of each individual Bond number winning any prize are 24,500 to 1.
- Pictures of Premium Bonds, including the Premium Bonds app and ERNIE are available in high-resolution jpeg format from the NS&I media team.
- Customers can buy Premium Bonds online at nsandi.com and over the phone by calling 08085 007 007. This is a freephone number and calls to it from the UK are free from both landlines and mobiles. Calls may be recorded. Customers can also buy by post. Existing customers can also buy by bank transfer and standing order and each investment must be at least £50 for bank transfers and standing orders.
- When reporting total unclaimed assets held by NS&I (including accounts, Certificates, Bonds, unclaimed Premium Bond prizes and other products), NS&I defines unclaimed holdings as those with no customer contact for a period of 15 years or more.
- Further information on NS&I, including press releases and product information, is available on the website at nsandi.com. Follow us on Twitter: @nsandi or join the conversation on Facebook: Premium Bonds made by ERNIE