Premium Bonds customers will miss out on prize draw if they do this one thing
Customers have been warned that changing their Premium Bonds arrangement will mean they will lose out on a monthly prize draw.
NS&I responded to a person on X asking: ‘I want to consolidate my holding into one group of 50,000 consecutive numbers. Do I have to sell all then buy again?’
The savings bank responded: ‘If you wish to do this, you would need to cash in your holding, then purchase the Bonds in one lump sum.
‘Please note however, if you do this, you will miss out on a prize draw.’
Bonds go into a monthly prize draw and customers have the chance to win prizes ranging from £25 tothe two £1,000,000 jackpots.
This is instead getting money back as an interest rate each month as you would with a conventional savings account.
A person can hold up to £50,000 in Premium Bonds, with each £1 having an equal chance of winning a prize.
Currently the prize fun rate is 4.4% and the odds of winning 21,000 to one.
MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis recently warned a savings account might offer a better return than Premium Bonds..
He explained: ‘If you’ve got £50,000 in, with typical luck you’re likely to win just a little bit less than the published interest rate.
‘If you’ve got far less in, then you’re likely to win with typical luck – and of course some people have more than typical luck and some people have less than typical luck – quite a bit less than the published rate.
‘And the published rate is nowhere near as high as you can get in top easy access or fixed savings.’
He did however say that Premium Bonds could be a good option for those who have used up their tax-fee allowances on their savings’ growth.
He added: ‘So if you’re going to have £50,000 and you’re going to put that into a Premium Bond, and you pay tax on your savings, because you’ve used your cash ISA and your personal savings allowance, then it’s worth looking at.’
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