Premium Bond prize winners revealed and how to check if you’ve won cash in October
THIS month’s Premium Bond jackpot winners have been revealed.
The lucky prize-winners are from Greater Manchester and West Scotland and each bagged £1million.
Both winners have £50,000 invested in Premium bonds which is the maximum amount you can invest in the scheme.
The Greater Manchester prize winner purchased their winning bond in October 2016 and the bond has a value of £5,000.
The lucky Scotland winner bought theirs in September 2009 and their bond also has a value of £5,000.
This month there were more than 5.7million prizes up for grabs with a prize fund of more than £470million.
Plenty of other savers also got lucky, with 71 people winning £100,000 and 141 claiming £50,000.
You can check the NS&I Premium Bonds prize checker the day after the first working day of the month to find out if you have won.
What are Premium Bonds?
Premium Bonds are a popular way to save some cash and offer something different from a regular savings account.
You do not get interest on your savings, instead, you’re in with a regular chance to win a prize of up to £1million.
Premium Bonds can be bought from the government-backed National Savings and Investments (NS&I).
You are not restricted in having access to your money and you can put money in and take it out whenever you want.
To get started you must put in a minimum of £25 and you can invest up to £50,000.
Each £1 you put into Premium Bonds will get you one entry into the monthly prize draw where you could be in with a chance of winning the £1million jackpot.
Because Premium Bonds are government-backed, your money is safe and there is no risk of you losing your cash.
How can I check if I am a winner?
It is really easy to see if you have won a prize, you can check your numbers using the NS&I Premium Bond prize checker online.
You will need to know the serial numbers on your Premium Bonds which can be found on your Bond record or through your online account.
If you have lost your numbers or are unsure you can ask NS&I for them.
There is also an official app for iPhones, Android and Amazon Echo where you can check to see if you have won.
To check via any of the apps, you must use your NS&I number rather than your Premium Bond numbers.
You can find this on any documentation you have from NS&I.
If you have won a prize that is under £5,000 you can get this paid directly into your back, or choose to buy more Premium Bonds with it.
For bigger prizes, NS&I will contact you by post and if you scoop the jackpot, someone will pay you a visit to let you know.
Remember to check as NS&I says there are over £1.5million prizes yet to be claimed.
This amounts to over £60million sitting waiting to be paid out to the rightful owners.
To check if you’ve won, all you need to do is enter your holder’s number on the NS&I website here.
Where can I buy Premium Bonds from?
If you are thinking of investing your money in Premium Bonds there are a number of ways you can do it.
You can purchase over the phone, online or by post, as long as you are over 16.
Parents, grandparents and legal guardians can buy Premium Bonds on behalf of children under 16.
They cannot be passed on if you die, but your heirs can get the cash value back on the bonds as long as they are sold by the executor within 12 months.
In August this year, NS&I made a major change to Premium Bonds that boosted the chance of winning to a 15-year high.