The first lucky winner picked from the hat was from Kent, and had the Premium Bond number 405PY086681. They had the maximum £50,000 holdings and purchased the bond in July 2020.
Also receiving a welcome festive boost is a winner from Cumbria, who had the bond number 538KR930303. The winner bought the bond in April and has £33,275 in bonds.
This marks the 24th winner of the £1m jackpot from Kent and the sixth from Cumbria.
NS&I’s electronic random number indicator equipment, known as Ernie, has picked 5,806,049 prizes this month, totalling over £441m.
Those included 84 winners of £100,000, 169 prizes of £50,000 and 844 of £25,000.
Wellness and wellbeing holidays: Travel insurance is essential for your peace of mind
Out of the pandemic lockdowns, there’s a greater emphasis on wellbeing and wellness, with
Sponsored by Post Office
Andrew Westhead, NS&I’s retail director, said: “Congratulations to our latest Premium Bond millionaires from Kent and Cumbria. Since the first Premium Bond draw in 1957, there’s been 731m prizes worth a total of £34.1bn.
“What a wonderful early Christmas surprise as the festive season begins. 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.”
The winners of the Yuletide windfall have been informed, but the other winners will be told tomorrow (3 December). To check if it’s you, head to the NS&I website, ask your smart speaker or take a look at the prize checker app.
Unclaimed prizes
While there are millions of winners, there are also plenty of unclaimed prizes, which can happen when account holders change their contact details or move home without notifying NS&I. This will often be the case if the bondholder has chosen to receive a prize through a cheque as opposed to a direct bank transfer.
As it stands, there are nearly two-and-a-half million prizes worth a total of more than £90m waiting to be claimed.
There might have been a winning account in Kent, but there are also 65,269 unclaimed prizes worth around £2.3m, with the biggest jackpot without a winner’s name being £50,000 from the draw in November 2007.
In Cumbria, the amount unclaimed is £517,450, which is made up of 15,116 prizes.
If you want to check about a potential winning prize, you can see it on the NS&I online prize checker through the checker app or online. All you’ll need is the holder’s bond number.
