The main objective of this paper is to propose a systematic approach to empirically analyse the effect of remittances on the utility of migrants, as proxied by their subjective well-being (SWB). Using data from a new survey on China (RUMiC), the paper estimates models in which a measure of subjective well- being is regressed on the level of remittances, and it finds a sizeable positive correlation. The effect of remittances on well-being varies with the socioeconomic characteristics of migrants, migration experience and the diversity of family arrangements. As a complementary objective, this paper uses SWB measures to elicit the motivations behind remittances and find evidence that both altruistic (such as pure altruism and reciprocity) and contractual motivations (such as co-insurance and investment) are at work among rural-to-urban migrants in China.