- Reader deposited £10,000 in Premium Bonds in 2008 and made 'very few' gains
- We wonder if newer bonds are luckier than older ones when it comes to winning
- Experts say how much you hold in bonds is more important than how long
I bought £10,000 worth of Premium Bonds in October 2008, but only won a handful of prizes, all for £25.
When I look at the Premium Bonds prices each month, I see that many of the winning bonds were purchased this year and some in recent months.
My question is: should I redeem my old Premium Bonds and buy new ones to increase my chances of winning more prizes?
Eyes on the Prize: Experts say that when it comes to winning Premium Bonds prizes, the most important thing is not how long you've held the bond, but the number of bonds you own
Helen Kirrane from This is Money replies: It can sometimes seem like there is an element of beginner's luck when it comes to Premium Bonds.
Over the summer, a Premium Bonds saver won one of the £1 million jackpot prizes on the third draw of his bond.
But on the other side of the coin, another Premium Bonds holder won a £50,000 prize from a £5 bond he bought in 1983 in the most recent draw in December.
The oldest bond to ever win the £1 million jackpot was bought in 1959 and was chosen as the winner by ERNIE 45 years later in 2004. The winner, from Newham in London, had just £17 in his possession.
Savings experts say the most important thing isn't how long you've held the bond, but the number of bonds you hold.
The maximum holding for Premium Bonds is £50,000 and each bond number is worth £1.
In October, our analysis revealed that half of the top prizes of £1m, £100,000 and £50,000 Premium Bonds were won by those with the maximum holdings of £50,000.
Andrew Hagger, founder of personal finance website MoneyComms, responds: This is just a myth.
It does not matter when a bond is purchased; this is entered into the same draw every month as all the others, so redeeming and repurchasing wouldn't improve your chances.
If you want to increase your chances of winning, buying more bonds to expand your existing holdings is the only way to do this.
A spokesperson for NS&I answers: It's become a popular myth, but new Premium Bonds aren't any luckier.
The reason this seems so is that of all bonds currently owned, more than 90 percent have been purchased since 2000. They may seem luckier simply because there are more of them.
The thing to remember is that all Bond songs are equal. Each Bond number is worth £1 and has the same chance as any other number of winning a prize in every draw. It makes no difference when or where your Premium Bonds were purchased.
Helen Kirrane replies: Each £1 bond has an equal chance of winning regardless of when or where it was purchased; it is simply the luck of the draw.
It's true that the more bonds you own, the better your chances of winning big. So you can increase your chances of winning a prize if you buy more bonds.
But this does not mean that it is impossible to win a bigger prize if you do not have the maximum amount.