Nationwide’s Start to Save is not the only account that offers savers a prize draw.
Perhaps the most well-known is National Savings & Investments’ (NS&I) Premium Bonds. These bonds do not offer any interest, but instead savers are entered into a monthly prize draw where they have the chance of winning £25 to £1 million. Premium Bonds have the benefit of being Government-backed and any winnings are tax-free. A maximum deposit of £50,000 is allowed and an account can be opened with a minimum deposit of £25. Savers considering this option should be aware that there is no guarantee of winning in the monthly prize draw and NS&I recently cut the odds of winning to 34,500 to 1. A more in-depth look at saving in a premium bond can be found on our story on whether savers should invest in a premium bond.
As well as NS&I’s Premium Bonds, Halifax holds a prize draw for savers who have a minimum of £5,000 saved in its savings accounts or cash ISAs, except for children’s accounts. The £5,000 or more needs to be deposited into the savings account or ISA for a whole calendar month to be entered into the next month’s prize draw. In each prize draw savers will have the chance to win from between £100 to £100,000.
The Family Building Society has temporarily withdrawn its Windfall Bond to new customers, but those who already have this account are still entered into its monthly prize draw. The account offers interest at the Bank of England base rate, which currently stands at 0.10%, and each month qualifying account holders will be entered into the prize draw where they can win from between £1,000 to £50,000. In order to hold a qualifying account, savers need to have £10,000 deposited into the account, other terms and conditions apply.
