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By
Richard Berry
- Updated
Prize savings accounts are lottery-style savings accounts where you can win a big cash payout instead of getting interest on your money.
The most famous example is National Savings & Investments’ (NS&I) Premium Bonds, but there are alternatives to Premium Bonds, too. We’ve compared the best savings accounts that offer prizes instead of – or in addition to – interest payments in this guide.
Prize savings accounts are like traditional savings accounts. You deposit your money and can withdraw it according to the terms of the account. But they typically don’t pay interest, and instead you’re entered into a monthly prize draw.
Banks and building societies have worked out that it’s cheaper for them to pay out a few big prizes than to pay everyone a market-beating interest rate. But, what’s in it for you? One advantage is that winnings are tax-free. We’ve covered what else to consider in this guide. Rates updated 28 March, 2025.
Our comparison of prize draw savings accounts includes, what the prizes are and how often they’re paid, your odds of winning and whether you’ll be paid interest as well.
| Prize Savings Account | Top Prize | Minimum Deposit | Equivalent Interest Rate | Odds of Winning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NS&I’s Premium Bonds | £1,000,000 | £25 | 3.8% prize fund rate | 22,000 to 1, per £1 bond |
| The Halifax Savers Prize Draw | £100,000 | £5,000 | Varies | Varies monthly based on participants |
| Family Building Society’s Windfall Bonds | £50,000 | £10,000 | Pays 3.5% (Bank of England base rate minus 1%) in addition to draw | 1 in 714 each month |
| Chip Prize Savings Account | £10,000+ | Minimum average balance of £100. | Prize rate varies. No interest. | Varies monthly based on participants |
| Kent Reliance | £1,000 | £100 | Up to 5.1%. Prize rate varies | Varies monthly based on participants |
| Serve and Protect Prize Saver | £5,000 | £1 | Prize rate varies. No interest. | Varies monthly based on participants (must be employee of emergency services, military or prison service) |
NS&I’s Premium Bonds
- Top prize: £1,000,000
- Minimum deposit: £25
- Chances of winning: 22,000 to 1 for each £1 bond
- Equivalent interest rate: Prize fund rate is 3.80% as of April 2025
NS&I Premium Bonds are very popular, with over 22 million holders. There are 2 £1 million prizes each month along with numerous smaller prizes. Your money is 100% secure as it’s backed by HM Treasury, and you have easy access to your funds without penalties.
The Halifax Savers Prize Draw
- Top prize: £100,000
- Minimum deposit: £5,000
- Odds of winning: Varies monthly based on the number of participants
Unlike other prize accounts, the Halifax Prize Draw isn’t tied to a single account. Holding at least £5,000 across qualifying Halifax or Bank of Scotland accounts qualifies you for the draw. You can earn interest on your savings while having a chance to win prizes. You must register to participate in the draw.
Family Building Society’s Windfall Bonds
- Top prize: £50,000
- Odds of winning: 714 to 1
- Minimum investment: £10,000
This account offers a chance to win monthly prizes while earning interest. However, a 35-day notice is required for withdrawals. The rate of interest is the Bank of England base rate minus 1%, so after 6 February, 2025, it became 3.5%.
Chip Prize Savings Account
- Top prize: £10,000 minimum
- Minimum deposit: Minimum average balance of £100
- Odds of winning: Varies monthly based on number of participants
Investment and savings app Chip launched its Prize Savings Account in 2022 and deposits count towards entries in a monthly prize draw, rather than earning interest. There is one prize of at least £10,000 and additional prizes of £10, amounting to a total of £75,000 in prizes each month.
The number of entries each account has into each draw depends on the size of its balance throughout the month. The number of entries is calculated by dividing the daily balance by the number of days in the month
An average balance of £100 gets you 10 entries and every additional £10 of average balance gains you one more entry. If an account holder starts a month with a balance of £10,000 and does not go below this amount, they are eligible for 1,000 entries in that month’s prize draw.
Kent Reliance Savings Account
- Top prize: £1000
- Minimum deposit: £100
- Odds of winning: Varies monthly based on number of participants
Kent Reliance, which is owned by OneSavings Bank, has a monthly prize draw for individual customers who are over age 18 and have a savings account with a balance of £100 or more.
Serve and Protect Prize Saver
- Top prize: £5,000
- Minimum deposit: £1 (must be employee of emergency services, military or prison service)
- Odds of winning: Varies monthly based on number of participants
The Serve and Protect Credit Union – which offers a range of financial products to employees of the police, prison, military, fire, and health services – has a Prize Draw Saver account. Participants can win up to £5,000 in the monthly prize draw, with at least 20 additional cash prizes of at least £20 also available.
Are Savings Prize Draws Worth it?
Even when interest rates are high, you can still win big and even average winnings could beat the best interest rates.
Whether it’s worth it is up to you, as it’s always a gamble. The main advantage is that you won’t lose your money as you do on the lottery, but you’ll also earn less than high-interest paying savings accounts if you don’t win anything. But if you do win, you will win big!
And if you do win, the prize money is tax-free.
Some people are happy to forego a small amount of interest for the dream of winning a big cash prize, whereas others will choose the certainty of an albeit low interest rate over the potential of no return at all if they fail to win.
There are other ways you can increase the return on your savings, but these do involve taking more risk with your money.
You could look at investing some of your returns instead as, historically, investing in the stock market has outperformed cash.
Savings prize draws alternatives
If you’d rather receive a guaranteed interest rate than take a chance on winning big, then one alternative is to use Hargreaves Lansdown’s Active Savings account which lets you switch between the best savings accounts without having to open lots of different accounts.
You may also be interested in these other types of savings accounts:
