TL;DR
- Complete Nook Phone tasks first for 1,900 quick miles including passport editing and custom designs
- Interact with villagers and explore your island to earn additional 900 miles through social activities
- Sell weeds, fruits, and unwanted items to earn 1,100-1,300 miles while cleaning up your island
- Progress through DIY recipes and tool usage to unlock advanced achievements worth 900 miles
- Use your accumulated miles for house upgrades or Nook Miles Tickets to expand gameplay options
Nook Miles serve as a secondary currency system in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, designed to reward players for engaging with core gameplay mechanics. These achievement-based rewards provide crucial early-game progression opportunities that complement the traditional Animal Crossing Money (Bells) economy. The most valuable initial purchase requires 2,000 Nook Miles for a Nook Miles Ticket, granting access to mystery island tours where you can gather rare resources, meet new villagers, and find exotic fruit varieties that sell for premium prices back home.
Seasoned players recognize that efficient Nook Miles farming in the first few hours dramatically accelerates island development. Following proven strategies from expert guides like AbdallahSmash026‘s method ensures you reach critical milestones without unnecessary grinding. Understanding that certain achievements stack progressively allows you to maximize your efforts—for instance, weed removal milestones increase in value as you clear more of your island.
[IslandName] Miles! (500 Nook Miles)
Access the Nook Miles app on your Nook Phone immediately after receiving it. The “[IslandName] Miles!” achievement provides a straightforward 500-mile bonus simply for opening the application interface. This serves as an introductory tutorial to the achievement system while providing substantial starting capital.
Edit Credit (300 Nook Miles)
Navigate to your Passport through the Nook Phone menu and make any modification—even something as simple as adding an emoji to your profile comment or changing your passport photo background. The system tracks any edit, regardless of how minor, making this one of the easiest achievements to complete.
First Custom Design (500 Nook Miles)
Access the Custom Designs app and select any blank template. Create a simple pattern—even a single colored square qualifies—and save it with any name. This achievement demonstrates the game’s encouragement of creative expression while providing substantial mileage rewards.
Bulletin-Board Benefit (300 Nook Miles)
Visit the Bulletin Board located beside Resident Services and post any message. The content doesn’t affect reward value, making this another quick achievement. Pro tip: Use this opportunity to leave yourself reminders about daily tasks or future plans.
Island Shutterbug (300 Nook Miles)
Open the camera app on your Nook Phone and capture a photo anywhere on your island. The game doesn’t require photographic skill—any snapshot triggers the reward, making this achievement both fun and profitable.
Island Togetherness (300 Nook Miles)
Locate and initiate conversations with both starting villagers. A single interaction with each character suffices—no need for extended dialogue. This achievement encourages the social aspect central to Animal Crossing’s charm while providing easy mileage accumulation.
NookPhone Life (300 Nook Miles)
As you naturally use various Nook Phone applications throughout gameplay, this achievement automatically unlocks. It rewards general familiarity with the interface, typically triggering after completing several other phone-based tasks.
Common mistake: Players often overlook talking to villagers multiple times daily, missing out on additional rewards, gifts, and DIY recipe opportunities that extend beyond the initial achievement.
Seller of Unwanted Stuff (300 Nook Miles)
Gather seashells, flowers, and weeds from around your island—these items respawn daily, creating renewable income sources. Approach Timmy inside Resident Services and sell any collected items. First-time sales trigger this achievement regardless of total value.
Greedy Weeder (300-500 Nook Miles)
Systematically clear weeds by pressing Y near them. Selling 50 weeds earns 300 miles, while progressing to 200 weeds yields 500 total miles. Weeds stack to 99 per inventory slot, making collection efficient. Each weed sells for 10 ACNH Bells, providing dual currency benefits from this single activity.
Pick of the Bunch (300 Nook Miles)
Shake your native fruit trees to collect 20 fruits, then sell them to Timmy and Tommy. Advanced strategy: Visit friends’ islands to sell your native fruit at 5x value, maximizing Animal Crossing Money earnings while working toward the mileage achievement.

Have a Nice DIY! (300 Nook Miles)
Regularly donate creatures to Tom Nook to unlock DIY recipes. After contributing five specimens, Blathers arrives, expanding your museum and crafting options. Unlocking 10 total DIY recipes completes this achievement.
Angling for Perfection (300 Nook Miles)
You’ve Got the Bug (300 Nook Miles)
Catch ten different fish and ten different bugs to complete these complementary achievements. Time optimization: Fish during different hours and weather conditions to encounter varied species more quickly.
Trashed Tools (300 Nook Miles)
As your flimsy tools break through normal use, this achievement automatically triggers. Don’t avoid tool usage—embrace the natural progression as each broken tool contributes toward your mileage goals.
Hoard Reward (300 Nook Miles)
Exterior Decorator (300 Nook Miles)
Place any ten Animal Crossing Items outside your home using the “Place Item” function. This achievement encourages outdoor decoration while progressing your island’s development.
Following this structured approach systematically nets you over 5,000 Nook Miles within your first gaming session. The cumulative total from these achievements provides multiple strategic options for advancing your island development.
Priority spending recommendation: Consider upgrading your tent to a house first, requiring 98,000 ACNH Bells but dramatically expanding storage and customization options. Alternatively, purchase Nook Miles Ticket at the Nook Stop to access mystery islands early, where you can gather resources unavailable on your home island.
For players seeking to accelerate progress further, reputable sources like MmoGah.com offer secure options to buy ACNH Items including Bells and Miles Tickets, though many find satisfaction in the organic progression these achievements facilitate.
Remember that Nook Miles represent an ongoing progression system. Daily achievements and Nook Miles+ tasks provide renewable mileage sources once you’ve completed these initial objectives.
Don’t forget to check out our Class Guide for similar structured progression systems in other games.
Action Checklist
- Complete all Nook Phone achievements: [IslandName] Miles!, Edit Credit, First Custom Design, Bulletin-Board Benefit, and Island Shutterbug
- Interact with both starting villagers and explore island features
- Collect and sell 50+ weeds, 20 native fruits, and unwanted items
- Donate creatures to Tom Nook to unlock DIY recipes and Blathers
- Place items outside your home and inside to complete decoration achievements
- Redeem miles for house upgrade or Nook Miles Ticket
No reproduction without permission:GameCDjnh » ACNH: How to Get Nook Miles Fast Master efficient Nook Miles farming with this comprehensive guide to unlock your first 5,000 miles quickly in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
