Premium Bond winners – who won the December £1 million jackpot?

National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has drawn this month's Premium Bond winners, which means two lucky holders have become millionaires.

The winners were picked by NS&I’s prize generator, ERNIE. The million pound jackpot winners come from Kent and Cumbria.

The winner from Kent holds bond number 405PY086681 and has £50,000 in Premium Bonds. They purchased the winning Bond in July 2020. The second winner from Cumbria holds £33,275 in Premium Bonds and drew bond number 538KR930303. The winning bond was purchased in April 2023.

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While the jackpot winners will have had a visit from Agent Million, other lucky winners can check from tomorrow for cash prizes that range between £25 and £100,000.

“What a wonderful early Christmas surprise as the festive season begins,” said NS&I retail director Andrew Westhead. “With millions of tax-free prizes won every month, Premium Bonds continue to be a popular way to save, offering the excitement of potential winnings.”

Here’s a full list of prizes up for grabs in December.

December 2024 Premium Bond winners

More than 5,806,049 prizes worth £441,743,525 will be paid out in the December 2024 draw, valued between £25 and £1,000,000.

Currently, the prize fund rate stands at 4.15%, down from 4.40% after dropping this month. It is set to fall again to 4% in January.

Despite the lower rate, the odds of winning will remain the same at 22,000 to one for each bond held. There will still be two £1 million prizes, however the number of prizes across most of the ‘runner up’ categories will fall, based on initial estimates from NS&I.

A nice perk for winners is that the cash prizes are tax-free. This means Premium Bonds can be a good option if you have maxed out your ISA allowance and are worried about paying tax on your savings interest.

How to check if you’re a December NS&I Premium Bond winner

If you hold Premium Bonds, you can check from tomorrow (3 December) to see if you have won any prizes this month.

Use the online NS&I prize checker tool or the NS&I app (downloadable on iOS and Android), and make sure you have your Premium Bond number to hand. The tool also allows you to check winnings from previous draws. An Amazon Alexa also allows you to check winnings going as far back as 1986.

Alternatively, you can write to NS&I at: NS&I, Sunderland SR43 2SB. It is important to include:

• Your name
• Current address
• Premium Bond number
• Any previous addresses where you might have registered bonds
• Your signature

You can also call NS&I for free on 08085 007 007. But you will only qualify for this method if you’re registered for phone or online banking with NS&I.

If you've been a long-term Premium Bond holder, it's worth checking for any unclaimed prizes. According to NS&I, 2,484,321 unclaimed prizes worth £90,963,050 are sitting idle.

How will my prize be paid?

Your prizes will be paid according to your preference. For example, those who have opted for automatic payments will get their cash prizes paid into their bank account. Alternatively, you might have set your winnings to be reinvested.

NS&I says more than nine in 10 prizes are paid directly into winners’ bank accounts or automatically reinvested into more Premium Bonds.

If you haven’t opted for either, you will receive a cheque – so it’s worth checking your address is updated. You can change your payment method on the NS&I website if you wish.