The February 2026 Premium Bonds prize draw has once again drawn nationwide attention after two UK savers won the top £1 million jackpots. National Savings & Investments (NS&I) confirmed that the life-changing wins went to bondholders in Central Bedfordshire and Liverpool. Beyond the headline prizes, more than 6.18 million tax-free prizes worth over £408 million were paid out this month.
From ERNIE’s role in selecting winners and regional prize breakdowns to unclaimed prizes, prize fund rate cuts, saver behaviour, and even early-checking “Midnight Club” trends, the February draw offers a complete snapshot of how Premium Bonds continue to shape UK saving habits.
Key Facts from the February 2026 Premium Bonds Prize Draw
The February 2026 Premium Bonds draw was conducted by National Savings & Investments and included:
- 6,183,066 tax-free prizes paid out
- Total prize value of £408,082,375
- 136,027,454,915 eligible £1 bond numbers
- Odds of winning any prize: 22,000 to 1 per bond
- Prize fund rate: 3.60%
Premium Bonds prizes range from £25 to £1 million and are free from UK income tax and capital gains tax.
Who Won the £1 Million Premium Bonds Jackpot in February 2026?
Two bondholders became millionaires in the February draw.
The first £1 million winner is from Central Bedfordshire. The winning bond number was 489TB013219, purchased in February 2022. The bondholder held the maximum permitted £50,000 in Premium Bonds. This is the second £1 million jackpot win recorded for Central Bedfordshire.
The second £1 million winner is from Liverpool, with winning bond number 040QJ919368, purchased in October 2004. The saver also held £50,000 in Premium Bonds and became the fourth person in Liverpool to win the £1 million jackpot.
Both winners were contacted directly by NS&I’s Agent Million ahead of the public announcement.
How ERNIE Selects Premium Bonds Winners
Winning bond numbers are generated by ERNIE, short for Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment. ERNIE uses quantum technology based on light to create random numbers.
Each month, ERNIE processes between 133 billion and 136 billion eligible bond numbers in around 20 minutes. NS&I states that the system is completely random and that every £1 bond has an equal chance of winning, regardless of when it was bought, where the holder lives, or the length of the bond number.
ERNIE has been selecting winners since June 1957. Since then, more than 815 million prizes worth around £40 billion have been awarded.
ERNIE, Names, and Long-Term Prize Statistics
Analysis of Premium Bonds winners over recent years shows no bias in ERNIE’s selections. While David and Susan were the most common winner names over the last five years, only seven people named Ernie won prizes in 2025.
By contrast, 248 people named Ernest (often shortened to Ernie) won prizes in the same year. The name Ernie famously appeared in comedian Benny Hill’s 1971 chart-topping song Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West).
In 2025 alone, ERNIE selected 72 million prize winners. The average Premium Bonds holding is reported as £5,613, while another industry estimate places the average at £5,406. However, the average holding among prize winners in the past year was significantly higher, at £23,397.
Full February 2026 Premium Bonds Prize Breakdown
| Prize Value | Number of Winners |
| £1,000,000 | 2 |
| £100,000 | 78 |
| £50,000 | 154 |
| £25,000 | 311 |
| £10,000 | 777 |
| £5,000 | 1,553 |
| £1,000 | 16,322 |
| £500 | 48,966 |
| £100 | 1,735,948 |
| £50 | 1,735,948 |
| £25 | 2,643,007 |
Regional Results: Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are grouped together for Premium Bonds reporting. No £1 million jackpot was won in the region in February 2026.
However, four bondholders won £100,000, with winning bond numbers:
- 367HV480875
- 183PB474239
- 653YX290362
- 348SA156023
Regional prize totals:
- £100,000 – 4
- £50,000 – 8
- £25,000 – 11
- £10,000 – 28
- £5,000 – 50
- £1,000 – 600
The total payout for the region was £2,205,000, down from £2,410,000 in January.
Unclaimed Premium Bonds Prizes Still Waiting
Across the UK, there are 2,713,707 unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes worth approximately £114.8 million.
- Central Bedfordshire has over 10,400 unclaimed prizes dating back to 1968, including a £10,000 prize from January 2024.
- Liverpool’s highest unclaimed prize is £5,000 from May 2023, along with 13 unclaimed £1,000 prizes from November 1987.
NS&I advises savers to keep contact and bank details up to date to avoid missing prizes.
The “Midnight Club” and Early Prize-Checking Culture
A growing number of Premium Bonds enthusiasts belong to the so-called Midnight Club, an online community that checks results as soon as they become available. The Premium Bonds (Unofficial) Facebook group, founded in 2012, now has around 17,000 members.
High-value winners lists for prizes above £5,000 are released a day before full results, showing regions, holding amounts, and purchase dates. Members often use pbprizes.com, a specialist website that compares bond numbers against prize tables, tracks probabilities, and shows how chances change over time.
On draw days, NS&I sees a 2,700% increase in website traffic, app usage rises tenfold, and customer service calls increase sharply. In December, calls rose 29% in the first week, with 85% of callers checking if they had won.
Odds, Prize Fund Rate Cuts, and Savings Market Changes
While the odds of winning any prize remain 22,000 to 1, the odds of winning the £1 million jackpot are estimated at around one in 66 billion.
The Premium Bonds prize fund rate now stands at 3.60%, following cuts from 4.15% to 4.00% in January 2025, 4.00% to 3.80% in April 2025, and 3.80% to 3.60% in August 2025.
NS&I has also reduced interest rates on its Direct Saver and Income Bonds accounts to 3.05% from 12 February, marking the first change since March 2025.
Why Premium Bonds Still Divide Opinion
Around 22–24 million people collectively hold approximately £134 billion in Premium Bonds. While prizes are tax-free and savings are Treasury-backed, NS&I and commentators note that money could perform better in other products such as ISAs. It is estimated that around two-thirds of bondholders have never won a prize.
A Draw That Shows Both the Thrill and the Reality of Premium Bonds
The February 2026 Premium Bonds draw delivered millionaire wins, millions of smaller prizes, and renewed national interest. At the same time, it highlighted falling prize rates, unclaimed winnings, and the unpredictable nature of prize-based saving.
For many UK savers, Premium Bonds remain less about guaranteed returns and more about hope, anticipation, and the possibility that one month, their number might finally be called.
FAQs on Premium Bonds February 2026 Prize Draw Results
1. Who won the £1 million Premium Bonds jackpot in February 2026?
Two savers from Central Bedfordshire and Liverpool won £1 million each in the February 2026 Premium Bonds draw, confirmed by NS&I.
2. How many prizes were paid out in the February 2026 Premium Bonds draw?
NS&I paid 6,183,066 tax-free Premium Bonds prizes worth £408,082,375 in the February 2026 draw.
3. What are the odds of winning a Premium Bonds prize in February 2026?
Each £1 Premium Bond had odds of 22,000 to 1 of winning a prize in the February 2026 draw.
4. How can Premium Bonds holders check February 2026 results?
Bondholders can check February 2026 results using the NS&I website, prize checker app, or by logging in with their holder’s number.
5. How many Premium Bonds prizes remain unclaimed in the UK?
There are over 2.7 million unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes worth nearly £115 million across the UK, according to NS&I.
