Halifax “Supersizes” Its Prize Draw for Savers

Halifax will hand out £1.35 million in prize money to savers in June, a one-time “supersizing” of its monthly raffle that will give a boost to savers stung by high inflation and low interest rates.

The bank runs a Premium Bond-style prize draw for customers with at least £5,000 stashed in its savings accounts. Usually the bank hands out £550,000 to 1,603 winners each month, with three top prizes of £100,000.

But to mark the 10th anniversary of the Savers Prize Draw (although it actually launched in 2011), Halifax will give away an additional £800,000 in June.

Included in the £1.35 million on offer are 10 top prizes of £100,000. For the first time, ten savers will also be awarded £10,000. In total, 1620 winners will be named.

To be entered into the drawing, customers need to register via the bank’s app or website or in one of its branches. Registering is free and open to anyone with a qualifying savings account from Halifax or Bank of Scotland (this includes all Halifax savings accounts and cash ISAs except children’s accounts and most Bank of Scotland branded personal retail accounts), who is also over 18 and living in England, Scotland, and Wales. 

However, you won’t be entered into a month’s drawing unless you have at least £5,000 held across all qualifying accounts during the previous calendar month. So to be entered into June’s bumper drawing, you need to have maintained a balance of at least £5,000 for the entirety of May. 

Savings in joint accounts will be split equally between the account holders when eligibility is determined, and all account holders will need to register for the drawing separately.

Halifax's supercharged prize draw will be a boon to savers, who have seen the value of their savings eroded by high inflation - which climbed to 7% in March - while savings rates have remained stubbornly low.

But over the last few weeks, banks and building societies have finally started to pass on the recent hikes that have taken the Bank of England base rate from 0.1% to 0.75%.

The average easy-access savings rate has risen from 0.25% in March to 0.33% this month, the largest monthly rise in 15 years.

The average rate for notice savings accounts climbed to 0.67%, while the average interest paid on a one-year fixed-rate bond climbed to 1.06% - the first time it has breached 1% since April 2020.

However, many savers will be earning meagre returns on their savings, as some high street giants have yet to hike interest rates on their savings products. 

Research commissioned by bank and wealth management firm Investec found that the UK’s high-street banks are still paying an average of 0.02% interest on easy-access savings accounts. 

In contrast, the top ten best buy easy-access savings accounts pay an average of 0.67% - 33% more than the big names. However, high street banks continue to hold around 60% of UK household deposits.

The best-paying easy access savings account is from US bank Chase, which launched in the UK last year. Its Saver account pays 1.5% interest but you can only access the account if you also open a current account with Chase.

Peer-to-peer lending startup Zopa pays 1.2% interest on its app-only Smart Saver account. It’s followed by Tandem Bank’s Instant Access Saver, which pays 1.1% interest.

Of course, none of these savings rates outpace inflation, which is forecast to hit 8.7% by the end of the year.

Sources