Premium Bonds: 22 Savers Win Top Prize Within 100 Days
Analysis reveals a significant number of jackpot winners secured the £1 million prize shortly after purchasing their bonds.
A recent analysis of National Savings and Investments (NS&I) data has revealed that 22 savers have won the £1 million jackpot with Premium Bonds within 100 days of their purchase over the past decade. This finding challenges the perception that winning the top prize requires a long holding period.
Since the £1 million prize tier was introduced in 1994, over 550 individuals have won the jackpot. The analysis highlights that a quick turnaround from purchase to winning is not as rare as one might assume, with 42 winners securing the £1 million prize within five months of buying their bonds, approximately one in every 12 jackpot winners.
Among the recent winners, one individual from Kent received the £1 million prize in the August draw after purchasing bonds in February 2026, a period of roughly 120 days. Another winner in June also purchased bonds in February 2026, achieving a win in just 120 days.
Looking at the past year, a quarter of the 24 millionaires made by NS&I had purchased their bonds in 2022. Other recent years with multiple winners include 2024 with five winners, and 2015 with three. The current year has already seen two winners from bonds bought in 2026, with two winners also from bonds purchased in 2025 and 2014. Additionally, 2023, 2019, and 2016 each had one millionaire winner.
The oldest bond to win the jackpot, by approximately 10 years, was purchased in October 2004 and won in the February draw.
The analysis identified 22 lucky savers over the last 10 years who won the £1 million prize within 100 days of purchase. The quickest wins recorded were 59 days, with a winner from Bedfordshire in March 2018 holding £7,500 in Premium Bonds and a winner from Surrey in March 1997 holding £10,100.
Following these, eight savers won the jackpot after 61 days. This group includes a winner from Gloucestershire in December 1995 who had a holding of £1,026. Three other winners secured the jackpot after 62 days.
In contrast, the average jackpot winner over the past year purchased their bond 65 months prior, indicating a waiting period of roughly five and a half years.