The odds of winning from Premium Bonds is set to drop from April 2026 once again but there are alternatives with a better chance of a prize.

Premium Bonds are one of the nation’s much loved savings products, with savers foregoing regular interest for the monthly chance of winning a tax-free cash prize between £25 to £1m.

But NS&I – who run the Premium Bonds along with other savings options – are set to have to pay out compensation worth hundreds of millions to customers over mismanagement claims.

And research by Vanguard shows two thirds of account holders have never actually won a prize.

A freedom of information request by the asset manager revealed that of the 23 million people holding a total of £135.7 billion in Premium Bonds between them, around 14.3 million (62 per cent) have never won a single prize, let alone a big one.

How hard is it to win a Premium Bonds prize?

Some of the above data is attributed to the small amounts of money held in many Premium Bond accounts.

But the odds of winning are set to get even worse in April when the equivalent prize rate drops from 3.6 per cent to 3.3 per cent. This will cut the level of prizes available, with the total amount dropping from around £408m to £375m.

The odds of winning will lengthen from 22,000 to one, to 23,000 to one, per £1 Bond number.

Alternatively, a traditional savings account will pay an agreed rate of interest and investing your money may attract higher returns over the long-term, which may be more appealing.

Some providers, such as TSB, occasionally run prize draws for customers or may make extra payments. For example, Nationwide often makes an annual Fairer Share payment for eligible current account, savings or mortgage customers worth £100.

And there are also alternative Premium Bond-style savings products available – where you can get better odds of winning a prize.

Chip

Fintech app Chip offers a Prize Savings account with £75,000 worth of prizes each month.

This ranges from £5 to a jackpot of £10,000.

There is no interest on money in the account, but instead your cash goes towards the prize draw and anything you win is added to your account.

The number of entries is decided by a saver’s average balance over the calendar month.

Odds of winning fluctuate depending on the number of accounts and the total value but last year there was a one in 964 chance of winning for every £10 held – far better than the odds of a Premium Bond win.

Credit unions

If you have a savings account with a credit union it is worth checking if it participates in the PrizeSaver competition.

PrizeSaver is run by the Association of British Credit Unions and is a monthly prize draw with a top prize of £5,000.

There are also 10 prizes worth £50 and another 10 of £20.

Every £1 held in a PrizeSaver account with a participating credit union is entered into the monthly prize draw. Account holders can only save up to £200 in the accounts though.

Family Building Society’s Windfall Bond

You could win a jackpot worth £50,000 in Family Building Society’s Windfall Bond.

There is a catch though as you need a minimum of £10,000 to open an account.

Each account is entered into a monthly prize draw where you are in with a chance of winning the jackpot prize and also £100, £500, £1,000 and £10,000.

The value of prizes on offer each month is calculated by taking the total value of Windfall Bonds from the previous month and multiplying it by one twelfth of one per cent.

There is an extra bonus though as the account also pays a rate of 2.75 per cent. Meaning you will still earn some money even if you don’t win a prize.

Family Building Society says there is a one in 714 chance of winning a prize in each month’s draw, which are significantly better odds than Premium Bonds.

Royal Bank of Scotland

It isn’t only savings accounts that offer prize draws – you could even get a bonus through a stocks and shares ISA.

At RBS, every £50 invested in its stocks and shares qualifies for one entry into the Royal Bank prize draw.

The top prize is £20,000 and 10 winners each could get £1,000, with 200 and £100 prizes on offer. The more you invest, the more chances you have of winning.

When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.