Were you a winner in the October 2024 Premium Bonds draw?

Were you one of the lucky winners in October's National Savings and Investments (NS&I) premium bonds draw? Once again, two lucky players won £1m each this month.

The first winning bond number drawn was 535MK963637 and is held by a winner based in Derbyshire. The winner has £50,000 in premium bonds and purchased their winning bond in March 2023. They become the fifth £1m winner from Derbyshire.

The second winning bond number drawn was 203JB525288 by a new millionaire from Gloucestershire. The winner holds £29,900 in premium bonds and purchased the winning bond in February 2013. They become the eighth jackpot winner from Gloucestershire.

Andrew Westhead, NS&I retail director, said: “Congratulations to our newest premium bonds millionaires from Derbyshire and Gloucestershire. I’m sure these wins will help to bring some autumnal cheer to our lucky bond holders.

“But it’s not just about our jackpot winners though – this month saw one £100,000 prize go to a holder with just £275 invested, and another to a winner who bought their winning bond 47 years ago back in July 1977. This shows that all eligible £1 premium bonds, regardless of when they were bought, have an equal chance of winning.”

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Unlike other investments, where investors earn interest or a regular dividend income, bonds are entered into a monthly prize draw where people can win between £25 and £1m.

The chances of all bonds winning are the same, regardless of when or where they were bought. Even if you did not get a winning ticket, be sure to check any unclaimed prizes.

Prizes do not expire, meaning you can claim as far back as the original 1957 draw. Premium bonds holders can reduce the chances of their prizes becoming unclaimed by managing their premium bonds online or opting to have any prizes paid directly into their bank accounts by BACS, with notification by email.

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In Derbyshire, there are currently 24,356 unclaimed prizes worth £861,350. The largest unclaimed prize in Derbyshire is worth £25,000 from the March 2016 draw.

While in Gloucestershire, 22,595 prizes with a total value of £768,875 are waiting to be claimed. The largest unclaimed prize is £5,000 and this was from the April 2019 prize draw.

Overall, there are currently 2,459,320 unclaimed prizes worth £88.4m waiting to be claimed.

A total of 5.99 million prizes worth £461m will be paid out in the October prize draw. There were 125,817,411,486 bond numbers eligible for the draw.

Customers can check the premium bonds prize checker on the NS&I website or download the app to see if they have won. All premium bonds prizes are free of UK income tax and capital gains tax.

The odds of any £1 bond number winning a prize are 21,000 to one. The prize fund rate for premium bonds is 4.40%.

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