July 2017 Premium Bonds winning numbers – have you won £1 million cash prize?
TWO lucky Brits in opposite ends of the country are waking up as millionaires today, as winners of July’s Premium Bonds draw.
Each month two randomly selected savers win the £1million jackpot. So could it be you? Here's everything you need to know about the draw.
Have I won money in July's Premium Bonds draw?
Premium Bonds are the UK’s biggest savings product, with 22m Brits saving more than £66 billion.
This month, the winners are a woman from Cumbria and a man from Dorset.
The Cumbria winner is the 365th millionaire in the contest and the sixth jackpot winner from the county.
Her winning number (Bond number 200CF877271) was part of a purchase of £30,000 in December 2012.
The Dorset winner is the 366th overall, with his bond number 262CH557538 striking gold in the South West county for the seventh time.
His £20,000 purchase in December 2015 forms part of a total Premium Bonds holding of £40,633.
In the July 2017 draw Ernie, the random number generator, paid out more than 2.3million prizes - worth £66m.
- The prizes included...
- Three lucky savers who won £100,000
- Five people who won £50,000
- 1,330 people who won £1,000
- 21,614 people who won £100
- 2.26m people who won £25
Could I be owed money in Premium Bonds?
Brits are currently owed £55m in unclaimed Premium Bonds.
In Cumbria, £321,925 remains unclaimed from 8,450 prizes.
The oldest is a £25 prize from January 1969, and there are 11 outstanding prizes worth £1,000.
And in Dorset, there are 15,949 unclaimed prizes - equalling £617,000.
The oldest dates back to February 1964 – a prize worth £25 – while there are 37 prizes worth £500 still waiting to be paid to their lucky owners.
If you think you may have unclaimed Premium Bonds, these are the winners from last month's draw.
How do Premium Bonds work?
Premium Bonds are a savings account you can put money into (and take out when you want), where the interest paid is decided by a monthly prize draw.
You buy £1 bonds and each has an equal chance of winning, so the more you buy, the more your chances improve.
- Minimum purchase amount: £100 (or £50 for monthly standing orders).
- Maximum amount you can hold: £50,000.
- Age limit: Over 16 to buy them; under that age they may be held in the name of under-16s by parents or guardians. Grandparents or great-grandparents can buy then nominate the child’s parent or guardian to hold them.
The winners are picked by a random number generating computer called Ernie (Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment).
Will I be a winner and where can I buy Premium Bonds?
A good way to find out if you will win is to use the the unique Premium Bond Probability Calculator (courtesy of ).
It proves that at every value someone with typical luck will earn less than the quoted prize rate.
NS&I lists the chance of one bond winning a prize in a month (one in 30,000) on its website.
You can apply to buy premium bonds at your local post office or over the phone, online or by post.
Once you own some you can buy more via direct debit on the .
How do I know if I have won?
Premium Bonds holders can check to see if they have won a prize in this month’s draw, draws in the last six months or if they have any unclaimed prizes with the
Alternatively, you can download the new and improved Prize Checker app, free from Google Play or the Apple Store.
What size return will I get?
On average, premium bonds pay out an investment return equivalent to about 1.3 per cent.
In theory this means you would win just over a penny a year for each pound of bonds owned.
But because of the randomness of the process, you may win less – or you may win a great deal more.
Where does the prize money come from?
The prize money is not funded by the sale of new bonds.
Instead, the money represents the amount that would be paid in interest if premium bonds were regular government bonds.
The prize fund interest rate, prize values and odds of winning are all subject to change.
