Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nook Miles guide

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has three forms of currency: Bells, which are earned through selling items, Nook Miles, which come from completing activities, and Poki, which are used exclusively in the Happy Home Paradise DLC. You'll need to collect plenty of each to turn your deserted island into a true paradise.

Nook Miles are earned through a mix of daily tasks and long-term challenges. These can be performed while doing things you want to do anyways, like talking to your neighbors, working on DIY projects, and gathering resources. You'll want to earn plenty of them to buy key things like expanded pocket space and the ability to customize your designs. Miles can also be easily converted into Bells if you need some quick cash. This guide will teach you everything you need to know about earning Miles.

Nook Miles Challenges

Think of Nook Miles challenges as achievements. Some are gained for fulfilling specific big milestones in the game or learning to use certain features. Others require spending a lot of time to fully unlock, rewarding you with increasingly large numbers of Miles as you make progress. Some even serve as a consolation prize when bad things happen to you. The best way to complete them is to go about your regular business and explore the game's many features.

The name of this challenge varies based on what you decided to call your island. This will be the first reward you get, 500 Miles, just for beginning to use the Nook Miles program. Who says Tom Nook doesn't give away anything for free?

You'll earn 300 miles for catching 10 fish, 500 for 100, 1,000 for 500, 2,000 for 2,000, and 3,000 for 5,000.

Fill out your Critterpedia by collecting 10 different types of fish, and you'll earn 300 Miles. You get 500 Miles for 20 fish, 1,000 for 40, and 2,000 for 60. Collecting all 80 gets you 3,000.

Talk to every villager living on your island in a single day, and you'll earn 300 Nook Miles. You'll earn 500 miles for doing it 10 times, 1,000 after 20, 2,000 for 30, and 3,000 for 50.

You'll earn 300 Miles for catching 10 bugs in your net, 500 for 100, 1,000 for 500, 2,000 for 2,000 and 5,000 for 3,000.

Catch 10 bugs for the first time and unlock their Critterpedia entries to earn 300 Miles. You'll get 500 Miles for 20 new bugs, 1,000 for 40, 2,000 for 60, and 3,000 for catching all 80.

You can collect DIY recipes from bottles, the Nook Stop, balloons, and talking to villagers. You'll earn 300 Miles when you have 10 recipes, 500 at 50, 1,000 at 100, 2,000 and 150, and 3,000 at 200.

Earn 300 Miles for finding five deep-sea creatures, 500 Miles for finding 50, 1,000 Miles for finding 250, 2,000 Miles for finding 1,000, and 3,000 Miles for finding 2,500.

Earn 300 Nook Miles for collecting five unique deep-sea creatures, 500 Miles for finding 10, 1,000 Miles for finding 20, 2,000 Miles for finding 30, and 3,000 Miles for finding 40.

Replace your broken tools by building new ones. You'll earn 300 Miles for crafting 10 tools, 500 for 50, 1,000 for 200, 2,000 for 1,000, and 3,000 for 3,000.

Earn 300 Miles for making five pieces of furniture, 500 Miles for creating 50, 1,000 Miles for creating 200, 2,000 Miles for creating 1,000, and 3,000 Miles for making 3,000.

Customize any tool or piece of furniture to earn progress on this challenge. You'll receive 300 Miles for personalizing five items, 500 for 20, 1,000 for 50, 2,000 for 100, and 3,000 for 200.

Earn Miles for using your axe to chop trees for wood, which you'll need for plenty of building projects. You'll receive 300 miles for 20 wood, 500 for 100, 1,000 for 500, 2,000 for 2,000, and 5,000 for 3,000. Chopping wood is also a Miles+ task.

Collect cooking recipes to earn Nook Miles! You'll earn Miles after collecting 10 and 30 recipes.

Gather ingredients and cook recipes to earn Nook Miles.

All tools break after a certain number of uses. It's annoying, but at least when it happens, you'll earn progress towards this challenge. You'll get 300 Miles the first time you break a tool, 500 for 20 broken tools, 1,000 for 50, 2,000 for 100, and 3,000 for 200.

Hitting a rock eight times in a row and knocking stones and ore out will net you 1,500 Nook Miles.

You'll get 300 Miles the first time you dig up a fossil on your island.

Have Blathers identify five fossils you've dug up, and you'll get 300 Miles. You'll get 500 Miles for 30 fossils, 1,000 for 100, 2,000 for 300, and 3,000 for 500. Assessing fossils is also a Miles+ task.

Earn Nook Miles the first time you dig up a gyroid.

Collect five and 15 different kinds of gyroids to earn Nook Miles.

Clean up your island and earn 300 Miles by selling 50 clumps of weeds, 500 for 200, 1,000 for 1,000, 2,000 for 2,000, and 3,000 for 3,000. Selling weeds is also a Miles+ task.

Earn 300 Miles for planting 10 flowers, 500 for 50, 1,000 for 100, 2,000 for 200, and 3,000 for 300. Planting flowers is also a Miles+ task.

Use a watering can to nurture 10 flowers and you'll earn 300 Miles. The challenge rewards 500 Miles for 50 flowers, 1,000 for 100, 2,000 for 500, and 3,000 for 1,000. Watering flowers is also a Miles+ task.

Earn 300 Miles for planting five trees, 500 for planting 10, and 1,000 for 30. Fruit trees don't count for this, just the saplings you can get from Timmy Nook or Nook's Cranny.

Sell enough fruit for Bells, and you'll also earn Miles. You'll earn 300 Miles after selling 20 pieces of fruit, 500 for 100, 1,000 for 500, 2,000 for 1,000, and 3,000 for 3,000.

Grow all six types of fruit on your island, and you'll be rewarded as you go. Remember, you need to plant one of your native fruit to complete the challenge. You'll earn 100 for cherries, 200 for oranges, 300 for pears, 500 for peaches, 700 for apples, and 1,000 for coconuts.

To complete this challenge, plant lots of shrubs. You'll earn 300 Miles for planting one shrub, 500 Miles for planting five shrubs, and 1,000 Miles for planting 20 shrubs.

Plant vegetable seeds to earn Nook Miles. You'll earn Miles for planting five, 20, and 50 vegetable starts.

Harvesting your crops can grant you some sweet Nook Miles. Harvesting 10, 50, 150, and 500 crops can earn you Nook Miles.

Walk the beach and pick up shells to sell for Bells to work on this challenge. You'll earn 300 Miles for selling 10 shells, 500 for 50, 1,000 for 200, 2,000 for 500, and 3,000 for 1,000. Selling shells is also a Miles+ task.

Dig up Manilla clams on the beach to use as bait, and you'll make progress on this challenge. You'll earn 300 Miles for five clams, 500 for 20, 1,000 for 50, 2,000 for 100, and 3,000 for 200.

Sometimes instead of reeling in a fish, you'll find you've caught junk like a can or an old shoe. Tom Nook will reward you for your unintentional cleanup efforts by paying 300 Miles when you've fished up three pieces of trash, 500 for 10, and 1,000 for 20.

Fish flawlessly, and you'll earn 300 Miles for catching 10 in a row without any getting away. Continue the streak to 50 fish for 500 Miles and 100 for 1,000.

Earn rewards as you upgrade your home. You'll receive 500 Miles for your first upgrade, 1,000 for your second, 2,000 for your fifth, 3,000 for your sixth, and 5,000 for fully expanding your house.

The Happy Home Academy provides weekly evaluations of your home based on how well it's decorated. Check your mail and find out how you did. There are three ranks, B, A, and S. If you get S, the highest rank, you'll earn 1,000. You'll also receive a pennant, plaque, or trophy in the mail depending on how many points you scored.

Earn 300 Miles for placing five indoor furniture items in your home, 1,000 for 15, 2,000 for 30, 3,000 for 100, and 5,000 for 150.

Earn 300 miles for stashing 20 items in your house's storage space, 500 for 50, 2,000 for 100, 3,000 for 200, and 5,000 for 300.

Remodeling your house and customizing the exterior lets you earn Nook Miles! You'll earn 500 Miles for remodeling once, 1,000 Miles for remodeling three times, and 2,000 Miles for remodeling five times.

Help out your neighbors by fulfilling their requests, and you'll be rewarded with an item and progress on this challenge. I earned my first 300 Miles by bringing medicine to my favorite villager, Mott, when he was homesick. You'll receive 500 miles for completing 10 requests, 1,000 for 50, 2,000 for 100, and 3,000 for 300.

You'll earn 300 Miles the first time you learn a Reaction by talking to one of your villagers. Keep collecting them, and you'll get 500 Miles for 10, 1,000 for 20, and 2,000 for 30. Collect all 42 and you'll get 3,000.

You'll earn 300 Miles the first time that you take a picture using your NookPhone.

Fill out your passport by picking a photo, comment, and title, and you'll receive 300 Miles.

Play around with your NookPhone and you'll earn 300 Miles. It's one of the earliest rewards you can get.

You can earn 1,000 Nook Miles for simply using your Nook Phone.

Shop online with your Nook Phone and earn Nook Miles! You'll earn 300 Miles for buying one item, 500 Miles for buying 20 items, 1,000 Miles for buying 50 items, 2,000 Miles for buying 100 items, and 3,000 Miles for buying 200 items.

Every piece of clothing and furniture you've previously bought will appear in the Nook Stop's catalog once you've unlocked Nook's Cranny. You'll earn 300 Miles for expanding the catalog's selection to 100 items, 500 for 200, 1,000 for 300, 2,000 for 400, and 3,000 for 500.

Completing Nook Miles+ tasks is the fastest way to earn Miles, and this challenge gives you bonus Miles for completing a bunch of them. You'll get 300 Miles for five, 500 for 50, and 1,000 for 200, 2,000 for 1,000, and 3,000 for 3,000.

You'll earn 300 Miles the first time you buy something on your island.

You'll earn 300 Miles the first time you sell something to Timmy Nook at Resident Services.

Give Tom Nook the 5,000 Nook Miles needed to pay the fees for moving to your island and your starting gear, and he'll give you 500 Miles back as a rebate.

Spend 5,000 Bells on goods and services on your island to earn 300 Miles, 50,000 for 500, 500,000 for 1,000, 2 million for 2,000, and 5 million for 3,000.

Buy turnips from Daisy Mae for the first time to earn 300 Miles.

Turn a profit by selling turnips, and you'll be rewarded based on how much money you made. You'll receive 300 Miles for earning 1,000 Bells, 500 for 10,000, 1,000 for 100,000, 2,000 for 1 million, and 3,000 for 10 million.

Pay off the 98,000 Bells loan that Tom Nook gives you to convert your tent into a home, and he'll congratulate you with 1,000 Miles.

You'll earn 300 Miles the first time you leave a message on your island's bulletin board for others to read.

Send letters to your friends to earn Nook Miles. Earn 300 Nook Miles for writing five letters, 500 Nook Miles for writing 20 letters, 1,000 Nook Miles for writing 50 letters, 2,000 Nook Miles for writing 100 letters, and 3,000 Nook Miles for writing 200 letters.

Help your villagers out by catching fleas that are bothering them. You'll earn 300 Nook Miles the first time you catch a flea, 500 Nook Miles after five fleas, and 1,000 Nook Miles for catching 10 fleas.

Catch yourself a cicada shell to earn 1,000 Nook Miles.

Gather the courage to catch five wasps in a row and earn yourself 1,000 Nook Miles.

Craft a Pitfall Seed and bury it to earn 300 Nook Miles.

If you were unfortunate to be stung by wasps twice in one day, you'll at least get 300 Nook Miles for your trouble.

If you get bit by a tarantula or stung by a scorpion and pass out, you'll get 300 Miles as a consolation prize.

Falling into a pit is never fun, but at least you'll get 300 Nook Miles if you're ever so unlucky.

Accidentally donated a fake piece of art from Redd? That's alright, have 500 Nook Miles for your trouble.

Sometimes your aim isn't always top-notch, and you'll shoot a balloon present into a body of water. But hey, there's 500 Nook Miles in it for you!

Use your slingshot to shoot down a balloon floating over the island and collect the present that it drops to make progress on this challenge. You'll earn 300 Miles after 5, 500 for 20, 1,000 for 50, 2,000 for 100, and 3,000 for 300.

Place 20 fence pieces of any variety, and you'll receive 500 Miles.

Earn 300 Miles for building one snowman, 500 for building 10 snowmen, and 1,000 for building 20 snowmen. Perfection doesn't matter, just roll some snowballs around.

Make a wish upon a star and you'll earn 300 Nook Miles. Wish on 30 stars to earn 1,000 Nook Miles, and for 200 wishes you'll get 2,000 Nook Miles.

Place 10 pieces of furniture outside, and you'll earn 300 Miles.

The name of this challenge varies based on what you decided to call your island, but no matter what, it will award you with 500 Miles when you change the island flag at Isabelle's desk in Resident Services. You'll get another 500 Miles for changing the island's tune.

You'll earn 500 Miles for using the Island Designer app to place a path on your island. You then need to purchase the permits for the waterscaping tool and landscaping tool using Nook Miles. Use each one for the first time and you'll earn another 1,000 Miles apiece.

Put Wisp back together by doing his quest, and you'll receive 300 Miles. You'll get an additional 500 Miles for helping him 10 times and 1,000 for doing his quest 20 times.

You'll earn 300 Miles the first time you help the shipwrecked sailor Gulliver get rescued by completing his quest. Help him 10 times and you'll earn 500 Miles and 20 times and you'll get 1,000.

You'll unlock this challenge and earn 300 Miles once you complete Project K and get the musician K.K. Slider to perform on your island. After his first trip, he'll become so enamored of your island that he'll come back every Saturday for a concert. You'll earn 500 Miles after attending 10 of the shows, 1,000 for 30, 2,000 for 60, and 3,000 for 100.

Collect one piece of artwork to earn 300 Nook Miles. Collect 10 pieces of artwork to earn 500 Nook Miles, and collecting 20 art pieces will net you 1,000 Nook Miles.

Ever met a laid-back otter after you've found a scallop? If you give him your scallop, you'll earn 300 Nook Miles. Give him 10 scallops to earn 500 Nook Miles, and 1,000 Nook Miles after donating 20 scallops.

Go sailing with Kapp'n to get some Nook Miles. You'll earn Miles for going on three and 10 trips.

Located in the museum, the Roost café is run by Brewster. You can earn Nook Miles when you come by for coffee every day.

Participate in Group Stretching to earn yourself some Miles.

You'll receive 300 Miles the first time that you establish a strong relationship with a villager by talking to them and giving them gifts. This will also unlock requests from them. You get 500 Miles for your second close friend and 1,000 for your third.

Attend some birthday parties to earn Nook Miles! One birthday party gives you 300 Miles, 10 birthday parties give you 500 Miles, and 20 birthday parties give you 1,000 Nook Miles. You can attend parties on your friends' islands, as well!

Play the game on your birthday to earn 2,000 Nook Miles.

C.J. hosts a fishing tournament every season and you'll earn Miles for competing in each of them. You don't need to earn a trophy or even any points to get credit. The spring one awards 300 Miles. The summer event awards 500 Miles. Fall's event awards 1,000 Miles and the winter tournament awards 2,000 Miles.

Flick hosts four Bug-Off tournaments every year. The spring one awards 300 Miles. The summer event awards 500 Miles. Fall's event awards 1,000 Miles and the winter tournament awards 2,000 Miles.

Ring in the new year on your island to earn 1,000 Nook Miles!

Use a wardrobe to change your outfit for the first time, and you'll earn 500 Miles.

You'll earn 500 Miles the first time you use the Custom Design app on your NookPhone.

Buy the Pro version of the Custom Design app from Nook Stop and make something using it for the first time, and you'll receive 300 Miles.

Dig up buried treasure on your island for the first time, and you'll earn 300 Miles.

Shake trees on your island, and they might drop branches, Bells, or even decorative items. You'll earn 300 Miles the first time you get a piece of furniture out of a tree, 1,000 for 10, and 2,000 for 20, 3,000 for 50, and 5,000 for 100.

Craft each of the Golden Tools to earn Nook Miles. Craft the Golden Net to earn 300 Miles, the Golden Rod to earn 500 Miles, the Golden Watering Can to earn 1,000 Miles, the Golden Slingshot to earn 2,000 Miles, the Golden Axe to earn 3,000 Miles, and the Golden Shovel to earn 5,000 Miles. You do not need to craft them in order.

Visit someone else's island for the first time, and you'll earn 300 Miles. You'll get 500 Miles after five visits and 1,000 for 10.

Earn Nook Miles by hosting friends. Host once to earn 300 Miles, five times to earn 500 Miles, and 10 times to earn 1,000 Miles.

Play a bit every day to make progress in this challenge. After three days, you'll earn 300 miles. You'll then receive 500 miles for 20 days, 1,000 for 50, 2,000 for 100, and 3,000 for 300.

Nook Miles+ Tasks

Once you give Tom Nook 5,000 Nook Miles to pay off your initial move-in fees, you'll have access to Nook Miles+ tasks. These are the best ways to rack up Nook Miles, so be sure to pay attention to them by checking the Nook Miles tab on your NookPhone.

You have five active Miles+ tasks at all times - as soon as you complete one, a new one will pop up. The first five that appear in the morning will give you double rewards. After you've upgraded Resident Services to a building, one of these starting tasks will instead give five times the Miles. These are all small things that you were probably going to anyways, so with a little planning you can be extremely efficient with your time. Here are the tasks we've seen so far.

Using the Nook Stop

Nook Miles are primarily spent at the Nook Stop kiosk inside resident services. Even if you're not planning on buying something, you should use the kiosk every day as you'll get a Nook Miles reward just for checking in. The rewards increase based on the number of days you check-in as follows:

Go the extra mile

Earning Nook Miles is easy and can add some direction to your daily chores in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. You'll need to gather plenty of them to collect the various rewards sold at Nook Stop, so be sure to keep this guide in mind to maximize your earning potential. You'll never run out of objectives to complete or things to do, which makes this game easily one of the best Nintendo Switch games.