Direct Saver
0.15%
Invest from £1 to £2 million
Direct ISA
0.10%
Invest from £1 to £20,000 tax year 2020/21
Junior ISA
1.50%
Invest from £1 to £9,000 tax year 2020/21
Premium Bonds
A fun way to save, with the chance to win tax-free prizes each month.
Essentials at a glance
- What are the odds of winning?
- 34,500 to 1 (for every £1 Bond)
- What’s the annual prize fund rate?
- 1.00%
- Will you pay tax?
- No. All prizes are tax-free.
- What's the min. to pay in?
- £25
- What's the max. to pay in?
- £50,000
Great for you if …
- You fancy winning tax-free prizes, up to £1 million
- You have £25 or more to save
- You want to make the most of tax-free saving
- You want to buy a savings gift for children under 16
Maybe not for you if …
- You want a regular income
- You're looking for guaranteed returns
- You're concerned about inflation
- You want to save jointly with someone else
Premium Bonds FAQs
How it works
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Each investment must be at least £25.
Buying online
You can buy Premium Bonds online using our secure online system. Please have your debit card details at the ready.
Buying over the phone
You can call us all day, every day. Please have your debit card details ready. (Please note: if you’re buying Bonds for someone else’s child, you can't buy them by phone. We don't accept credit card payments.)
Buying by post
Simply complete an application form and send it to us, with a cheque payable to NS&I.
Print and complete an application form:
Buying for yourself or your child under 16
Buying as a gift for someone else’s child under 16
Bank transfer or standing order
If you or a child you’re buying for already have some Premium Bonds, you can buy via bank transfer (including standing order).
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Premium Bonds can make a special gift for a child under 16. Until the child’s 16th birthday, the parent or guardian named on the application looks after the Bonds, regardless of who bought them.
We’ll send confirmation of any transactions made, prizes won and payment for cashed-in Bonds to the nominated parent or guardian until the child is 16.
The Bonds and any prizes won will be owned by the child.
Buying for your own child
Parents or legal guardians can apply online, by phone or by post. If your child already has some Premium Bonds and you want to buy some more online or by phone, you’ll need to be registered first. This could take a few days while we set up your registration.
Buying for someone else’s child
You can apply online or by post. You can ask us to send you an electronic or paper gift card for you to pass on to the child. We’ll also send you an acknowledgement of your investment. But only the nominated parent or guardian will be able to manage and cash in the Bonds.
Before you apply for someone else’s child:
- Please make sure the parent/guardian is happy to look after the investment for the child, and agrees to you giving us their details
- We'll check the identity and address of everyone named on your application, and we may need to ask for documents to prove this
- Please let the parent/guardian know that we might be in touch to ask for evidence of identity documents
As part of your application you'll need to know:
- The parent's/guardian's date of birth and address
- The child's Premium Bonds holder's number (if they have one)
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With Premium Bonds, there is no interest earned. Instead the prize fund rate and number of eligible Bonds funds a monthly prize draw for tax-free prizes. Remember that inflation can reduce the true value of your money over time.
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Yes! Just fill out a quick online form and we’ll get it sorted for you. Be sure to have the details of the account you want to switch from to hand.
Switch to Premium Bonds – for myselfOnly use if switching from another NS&I account or Investment
Switch to Premium Bonds – for a child under 16Only use if switching from another NS&I account or Investment
Prefer the post?
It will take a bit longer, but you can still download and send us a paper form in the post.
Your Bonds and the prize draw
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Once you've bought your Premium Bonds you can manage them online and by phone.
Log in or call us to check your balance and transactions, including any prizes you’ve won.
You can also give us instructions by post. We’ll send you confirmation every time you buy or cash in your Bonds. You can get this by post, too. Or choose to go paperless.
Your holder’s number
We give a holder’s number to everyone who owns Premium Bonds. It links all the individual Premium Bonds you have. Quote it whenever you buy more Bonds, cash them in or have a query.
Just to note, it’s different to your NS&I number, which we give you when you register for our online and phone service.
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For most prizes, we’ll send them automatically through your chosen payment method. For a prize of £5,000 or more, we may need to check with you first before paying it. If so, we’ll send you a claim form to complete and return.
You can choose to either:
Have your prizes paid directly to your bank account
You’ll need to make sure you’re registered to manage your savings online first. Then simply log in, go to 'Your profile' in the top menu and click 'Your prize options'. Click 'Change', follow the instructions and remember to click 'Save' when you've finished.
Automatically reinvest prizes below £5,000 into more Bonds
You can also choose to get your prizes reinvested, meaning your Bonds will go straight into the next prize draw. Your chances of winning will increase each time you win a prize! You can do this if you have less than £50,000 invested in Premium Bonds.
To set this up:
Simply log in, go to Your profile in the top menu and click Your prize options. Click Change, follow the instructions and remember to click Save when you've finished.
Before you set up an automatic reinvestment:
- Only future prizes will be eligible for automatic prize reinvestment. We’ll need a few days to set up this service for you, so don’t leave it too late in the month.
- After we’ve set up your automatic reinvestment, we will issue new Bonds for you whenever you win a prize, and tell you which of your numbers won.
From Spring next year, we’re ending prize payments by warrant (like a cheque). This means you’ll need to let us know your bank details to carry on receiving any prizes you win. Find out more -
You can cash in all or part of your Bonds at any time.
Have you registered for our online and phone service? If so, simply log in or call us.
You can also download, print and complete a cashing-in form. Then post your completed form to us together with the bond certificates to be cashed in (if you have them).
Print and complete a cashing in form
Don’t have access to a printer? Call us and we’ll send you a copy of the form.
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We pay out over two million prizes every month to lucky Bond holders, whose numbers are generated at random. Prizes range from £25 to £1 million and are all tax-free. Want to find out more? Head to our blog.
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You can choose to get your prizes reinvested, meaning your Bonds will go straight into the next prize draw. Your chances of winning will increase each time you win a prize!
You can do this if you have less than £50,000 invested in Premium Bonds.
To set this up:
Simply log in, go to Your profile in the top menu and click Your prize options. Click Change, follow the instructions and remember to click Save when you've finished.
Before you set up an automatic reinvestment:
- Only future prizes will be eligible for automatic prize reinvestment. We’ll need a few days to set up this service for you, so don’t leave it too late in the month.
- After we’ve set up your automatic reinvestment, we will issue new Bonds for you whenever you win a prize, and tell you which of your numbers won.
From Spring next year, we’re ending prize payments by warrant (like a cheque). This means you’ll need to let us know your bank details to carry on receiving any prizes you win. Find out more
Not registered to manage your Bonds online?
Just fill out a quick online form and we’ll take care of the rest.
Please note: you must be the person responsible for the child’s Premium Bonds in order to make any changes to their account.
DecemberResultsare in
Apply for Premium Bonds
Please read the key product information below before applying for this account.
Key product information
- Account name
-
NS&I Premium Bonds
- Who can buy and how much
-
Anyone aged 16 or over can buy Bonds.
Buy from £25 up to £50,000 in total.
- Interest rates
-
No interest earned. Instead, the interest rate funds a monthly prize draw for tax-free prizes.
- Tax status
-
All prizes are tax-free
-
Conditions for bonus payment
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Not applicable
- Withdrawal arrangements
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No notice, no penalty
- Access
-
Apply and cash in online, by phone or by post
- Some definitions explained
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Tax-free means that prizes are exempt from UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
Please make sure you’ve read our brochure which includes the customer agreement (terms and conditions last updated on 22 November 2020) before applying.
Apply nowSwitch to Premium Bonds
Please read the key product information below before switching this account for a child under 16.
Key product information
- Account name
-
NS&I Premium Bonds
- Who can buy and how much
-
Anyone aged 16 or over can buy Bonds.
Buy from £25 up to £50,000 in total.
- Interest rates
-
No interest earned. Instead, the interest rate funds a monthly prize draw for tax-free prizes.
- Tax status
-
All prizes are tax-free
-
Conditions for bonus payment
-
Not applicable
- Withdrawal arrangements
-
No notice, no penalty
- Access
-
Apply and cash in online, by phone or by post
- Some definitions explained
-
Tax-free means that prizes are exempt from UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
Please make sure you’ve read our brochure which includes the customer agreement (terms and conditions last updated on 24 November 2019) before applying.
Switch to Premium Bonds
Please read the key product information below before switching to this account.
Key product information
- Account name
-
NS&I Premium Bonds
- Who can buy and how much
-
Anyone aged 16 or over can buy Bonds.
Buy from £25 up to £50,000 in total.
- Interest rates
-
No interest earned. Instead, the interest rate funds a monthly prize draw for tax-free prizes.
- Tax status
-
All prizes are tax-free
-
Conditions for bonus payment
-
Not applicable
- Withdrawal arrangements
-
No notice, no penalty
- Access
-
Apply and cash in online, by phone or by post
- Some definitions explained
-
Tax-free means that prizes are exempt from UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
Please make sure you’ve read our brochure which includes the customer agreement (terms and conditions last updated on 24 November 2019) before applying.
Top up your Premium Bonds
If you already have an account with us, you can top it up whenever you like. For more info:
- Top up by bank transfer
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- Reference:
- You must enter your (or the child's) Premium Bonds holder's number only (not your NS&I number) as your reference. You can find your holder’s number on your bond record or by logging in online. Make sure you enter the holder's number correctly without any hyphens, spaces or full stops.
- Payee name:
- NS&I
- Account number:
- 11994808
- Sort code:
- 08 31 15
- You must be aged 16 or over and buying Bonds for yourself or for a child under 16.
- You or the child must already have some Premium Bonds, and you must know your (or the child’s) holder’s number.
- Each investment must be at least £25 and in whole pounds.
- The bank account must be a UK account in your name.
- When buying by bank transfer, you are confirming that you have read and accepted the current customer agreement.
- Any transfers that would take you over the £50,000 limit will be automatically refunded in full to your bank account, so you may want to check your Premium Bonds balance before investing.
- Please note that we do not accept payment via Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS).
Give the following details to your bank:
When you set up your payment, you may receive a message saying 'This account can't be checked' or something similar. This doesn't mean the details you are using are wrong but please check them carefully.
For more information on topping up by bank transfer see our FAQs
- Top up by debit card
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Top up your Premium Bonds using your debit card
Top up your account
Ready to apply?
Be sure to check our FAQs first, then we'll show you the Premium Bonds customer agreement before you apply.
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