Basically, in theory, statistically it works out better. So we’ve got something like £30000 invested now whereas we’d individually only have about £5000 invested. So, in theory six times the chance of winning, albeit for 1/6 of the amount.
It was much more noticeable in the early years as we’d more members so got to a few grand in much quicker than we would have done individually.
Based on the holding at the time of the win. It has to be that way as some people have paused payments now and again so the holdings range from maybe £300 to over £5000.
It’s actually pretty simple to run. You need the contracts signed to cover you for tax. It helped that we all worked together at the start i.e. we had the trust. You need a separate account to collect the standing orders and a spreadsheet to keep track of balances. Each month, the manager sends the balance to one of us and we buy the bonds for that month. Broadly speaking, we each hold bonds roughly equal to what we’ve paid in.
As I was saying, because we’ve been running it for so long, we’ve had some retirements in recent years and, sadly, one death.
This sounds like the most complicated thing I’ve ever heard that will 100% end up with everyone falling out if there’s ever a big win.
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It’s really very simple to run, it just sounds complicated.
I suspect we’ll never have any issues with a big win, as we’ll never have one. Well, the syndicate will, the month after I resign, which is mainly why people haven’t been resigning 
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One of this months millionaire winners only purchased the winning bond in November 
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Well it turns out I did in fact with the Omaze draw! Just not the one for the house… I got an email this morning saying I won £10, but on following up it is a £10 voucher on an Omaze draw of my choice in the next 45 days… (Do they give this to everyone on their first month to get them thinknig they’re lucky?) Now I need to decide whether to use it on the Bath house or wait to see what they offer in Feb…
£50k I think. Majority of the big winners have over £40k in holdings.
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I don’t remember ever having had to verify my identity with NS&I - I’ve been a customer for nearly 42 years but I don’t think that exempts me from KYC checks!
February’s results are out - the prize checker won’t be live until tomorrow but if you’re impatient you can do some filtering in the Excel file to see if ERNIE has been kind to you. None of our numbers have come up, but it’s always fun to see how patience can pay off with Premium Bonds:
| National Savings & Investments - Prize winners February 2025 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prize Value | Winning Bond NO. | Total V of Holding | Area | Val of Bond | Dt of Pur | |
| £10,000 | DS255404 | £19 | Tyne And Wear | £4 | Jul-61 | |
| £5,000 | 1VT084566 | £28 | Bridgend And Neath Port Talbot | £25 | Jun-58 | |
| £1,000 | 3DT393304 | £1 | Devon | £1 | Jun-69 |
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Is it me.. Is it me.. Is it ME?!
No, it is not 
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You can win any of the prizes with £1, can’t you?
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You can, but I think the point he was making is that it’s less likely when you don’t have a huge holding.
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Definitely a much lower chance, yes. I only have £1 in my premium bond account so at least I’m in with a tiny chance.
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Isn’t the minimum holding £25?
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Well, I’ve been maintaining the account with £1 in it for a few years now!
Edit: It seems that the minimum purchase is £25.
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It used to be £1. I think they are still £1 but you have to buy them in 25s.
Someone won £10k with £19!
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It 100% used to be £25 as last time I cashed out it said I had to keep £25 or the account would be closed.
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Could you put in £25 and then withdraw £24?
Last time I did it, that would close the account.
Today though it seems you can keep the account open with as little as £1, but must have changed at some point.
for ages I had an NS&I Investment Account with pennies in it. (I’ve now bumped it up to £1 so that it can very slowly accumulate interest, meaning when I wake up from a cryogenic sleep in the year 3000, I’ll be a millionaire and will be able to afford an anchovy pizza.)
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