You didn’t get to move to your new island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons for free! Tom Nook will request that you pay 5,000 Nook Miles for your spot. It takes quite a bit of time to earn these miles, as you’ll have a lot of challenges to complete.
The question is, whether it’s worth focusing on paying these miles, and what will happen if you actually do. Below, we’ll show you what happens if you pay back what you owe with Nook Miles in ACNH.
This guide was created during the first week of Animal Crossing: New Horizons release on the Nintendo Switch. Depending on when you’re reading this guide, some thing may be different due to future updates. However we’ll always try to come back and update these guides! For more of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons Guides & Best-of lists, make sure to check out our dedicated area here!
Pay Back Miles
Once you have 5,000 Miles, head back to Tom Nook to pay your move-in fees. You’ll have them removed from your inventory, but you get some new benefits.

Firstly, Tom Nook will give you the option to upgrade your Tent into a House. Although this will put you in debt by 98,000 Bells, but there’s no rush to pay the back thankfully. Upgrading the house will give you more storage and more tools to decorate your home. You’ll also gain access to the Nook Miles + Program, which is a way for you to earn even more miles by completing extra challenges.

You have to pay back these 5,000 Nook Miles to even progress through the game anyway. You’ll get access to some new quests (no spoilers) and the ability to explore new islands where you can collect resources.