June premium bond winners – should you try an alternative prize draw?

Two lucky premium-bond holders have hit the jackpot this month, each bagging £1m in the latest National Savings & Investments (NS&I) monthly prize draw. 

The winners are from Southampton and Surrey; 87 other premium-bond holders received the next-best prize of £100,000.

If you didn't win this time, you may have more luck entering other prize draws that reward savers.

Here, Which? reveals the winning premium bond numbers and how to find out if you have a prize waiting for you – plus we explore alternative competitions.

June 2024 premium bond winners

The first winning bond (352QK018542) was bought by a lucky winner living in Southampton, and is part of a total holding of £50,000. The winning bond was bought in February 2019.

The second winner, from Surrey, bought their bond (294DL518203) in January 2017. They have a total holding of £50,000.

• Find out more: should I get premium bonds?

How many winners were drawn in June?

There were 5,909,748 prizes given out in the June prize draw, worth a total of £455,050,550. Of these, £5,833,718 were worth £100 or less.

Are you more likely to win with other prize draws?

The odds of each £1 premium bond number winning a prize are currently 21,000:1. But even with average luck, someone investing £1,000 will probably win nothing over the course of a year.

If you enjoy the thrill of a flutter but want better odds of winning a cash prize, there are a few alternative draws you can enter by opening a savings or investment account.

Bestinvest monthly savers prize draw

What is it? One lucky customer will be selected at random on the 12th of each month and given £250, paid out within 30 days. But you'd better hurry if you want to be in with a chance of winning, as the raffle will close after the July winner is chosen. Bestinvest told Which? it may consider bringing back the prize draw at a later date. 

How do you enter? To qualify, you must be 18 or over and have in place a direct debit or standing order of £50 or more to a Bestinvest Isa, self-invested personal pension (Sipp) or investment account before the 12th of the month. 

How much can you win? There is only one prize of £250 up for grabs per month and you can only win once. If you win, you will be withdrawn from future draws. 

What are the odds? Prize draw entrants currently have a 1 in 4,348 chance of winning.

Is it available throughout the UK? Anyone who is a permanent resident in the United Kingdom can open an account and take part in the draw.

Other terms? You must be at least 18 to open an account and you can opt out of the draw if you wish. You can cancel your monthly saving at any time, but if you do so before the 12th of the month, then your account will be removed from that month's draw.

Chip prize savings account

What is it? The Chip prize savings account functions like an instant-access saver account, but instead of earning interest on your savings, you earn entries into the prize draw. Each month, there is £75,000 in prizes, with the top prize worth £10,000. 

How do you enter? Every £10 you deposit into the prize savings account is worth one entry into the prize draw, and you must have at least £100 deposited by the end of the month. 

How much can you win? The amount of prizes can vary month to month, but there will always be a minimum of one £10,000 prize, plus 2,651 smaller prizes of £100, £50, £25 and £10.

What are the odds? With each entry, you have a 1 in 1,616 chance of winning a prize. Like premium bonds, your odds are boosted with the more entries you have. Chip said that those with an average balance of £5,000 have a 26% chance of winning a prize, but this rises to 50% with a balance of £10,000, and 71% with a balance of £20,000. 

Is it available throughout the UK? Yes, you must be a permanent resident in the United Kingdom.

Other terms? Savers need to be 18 or over to open an account. There is a limit of 8,500 entries per month (equivalent to £85,000) and a limit of one prize savings account per customer. £85,000 is also the maximum you can deposit in the account. Note that the Prize Savings Account doesn't pay any interest.

Halifax/Bank of Scotland savers draw

What is it? Every month, £550,000 worth of prizes are handed out to those who maintain a total savings balance of at least £5,000. 

How do you enter? Hold at least £5,000 of savings in any qualifying account for a full calendar month. These include all Halifax savings and Isa deals, excluding accounts for children, as well as most Bank of Scotland branded savings accounts. 

How much can you win? There are three prizes worth £100,000, 100 prizes of £1,000 and 1,500 worth £100. 

What are the odds? This will vary depending on how many customers satisfy the eligibility criteria, but on average 1,603 people walk away with a cash prize each month. 

Is it available throughout the UK?  No, it's only available in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland previously had different rules that meant customers there were unable to take part. The law has now changed and Halifax says it will let customers know if they eligible in the future. 

Other terms? Any savings in joint accounts will be split equally, and account holders will need to register separately. Entrants must be aged 18 or over.

NS&I quietly raises rates on savings accounts

NS&I offers a range of traditional savings accounts, which, unlike premium bonds, offer guaranteed returns.

On Thursday 23 May, NS&I quietly upped interest on some of its accounts. General election rules mean the Treasury-backed provider can't promote the changes, in case it sways voters. 

Rates on both the direct saver account and income bonds rose from 3.65% AER to 4%. While that's above the May average easy-access rate of 3.11% AER, according to Moneyfacts data, it's a far cry from the current top rate on the market of 5.2%.

The rate of 4.5% AER on the newly launched one-year British savings bond is also disappointing. It is below the average 4.58% AER and the best on the market rate of 5.22%.

The best rates on the market are available from smaller online banks and cash savings platforms, so they’re a sensible place to start when you’re looking for the best deal.

• Find out more: best savings accounts 2024