Premium Bonds prize draw results for January 2025 - two scoop £1million jackpot prizes

It’s been a very happy new year for two NS&I Premium Bonds holders after each scooped a £1million jackpot prize. Among other lucky winners is a person who won a £10,000 prize after buying just £3 in bonds in the 1970s.

For those unfamiliar with Premium Bonds, they are essentially a savings account where instead of being paid interest, tax-free prizes are awarded in a monthly draw. Prizes range from £25 to £1 million.

The first of January 2025’s £1million prizes was won by a person from Liverpool with winning Bond 492XB861312, purchased in March 2022, when they bought £18,025 worth. They previously held £37,025 in total.

The second top prize went to someone from Gloucestershire with winning Bond 601RW421962, purchased in November 2024, when they bought £17,480 in Bonds. They previously held the maximum £50,000 in Bonds.

While not everyone can walk away with such a massive payout, others with relatively small investments did scoop some decent prize money. A person from Cornwall with just £100 in Bonds and someone in North East Scotland with £250 in Bonds, each won a massive £50,000 prize.

And one saver in Cambridgeshire who bought £3 in Bonds in January 1970 and had amassed total savings of just £20 in Bonds up until now, took home £10,000.

You can check if you have won using the prize checker tool on the NS&I website. Winning Bonds are chosen at random so each £1 Bond has an equal chance of being selected for a prize.

NS&I cut its Premium Bond prize-fund rate to 4% from 4.15% from the January 2025 draw which has left some customers wondering if they are still worth having. According to the Money Saving Expert (MSE) website, created by financial guru Martin Lewis, the rate was “already lagging behind interest rates on standard savings accounts” recommending bondholders consider moving their cash to an interest-paying account.

January’s cut to the prize-fund rate was the second in two months, after NS&I announced that the rate would drop to 4.15% for the December draw. However, the odds of winning remain the same at 22,000 to one. The changes mean the prize-fund rate falls even further behind savings rates on offer, with easy-access cash ISAs offering 5.18% or up to 4.85% with standard easy-access savings, MSE says.

The financial advice website also pointed out that most people with typical luck won't actually get a return of 4%, even with the maximum £50,000 invested. For every £100 invested in Premium Bonds, £4 is paid out every year in prizes, but although the prizes include two £1 million payouts and other big prizes, many win far less.

However, as you are unlikely to become a millionaire from the interest on your savings accounts alone, investing in Premium Bonds is often a way for people to keep that dream alive while keeping a pot of savings tucked away for a rainy day.