ok so i passed my general back in the spring and ive been really getting into DX chasing lately. worked about 40 countries so far which i know isnt a lot but im hooked. someone at my club mentioned i should be logging toward DXCC and i just assumed you needed physical QSL cards but then someone else said LoTW is fine now and i got confused because a third guy said something about needing both depending on the entity or something.

so whats the actual deal? like if i work a station and they confirm on LoTW is that good enough for DXCC credit or do i still need the physical card? and what about WAS — is that totally separate or do the same confirmations count for both. also saw something about WAZ on the ARRL site and im not sure if im supposed to be chasing all three of these at once or if theres a logical order to go in. probably a dumb question but nobody at the club gave me a straight answer and i figured id just ask here

not a dumb question at all, i remember being totally lost on this when i first started chasing DX. so the short answer is yes, LoTW confirmations count for DXCC — ARRL has accepted LoTW credits for years now, you dont need a physical card if the other station confirms on LoTW. that said some DXpeditions and especially some rarer entities still only send paper cards so youll end up needing both eventually just depending on who you work.

WAS and DXCC are completely separate awards with separate applications, but if you log to LoTW and the other station does too, those confirmations can count toward whichever award applies. so yeah the same QSO can credit toward WAS if its a US state and toward DXCC if the entity is on the current list. WAZ is the CQ zones award — thats run by CQ Magazine not ARRL so thats a whole separate thing with its own confirmation process, though they do accept LoTW records too last i checked.

honestly just make sure youre uploading everything to LoTW from day one and send cards via bureau for anything that doesnt confirm electronically. 40 countries is a solid start, youll hit 100 faster than you think once you get your antennas sorted.

yeah what he said. one thing i'd add — when you apply for DXCC you submit through the ARRL's online system and it pulls your LoTW confirmations automatically which is pretty slick. just make sure your callsign and dates are right in LoTW or stuff wont match up, had a friend lose a bunch of credits because his logging software had the UTC date off by a day and it caused mismatches for like 20 QSOs.

the order to chase them honestly doesnt matter just go for whatever feels fun. i started with WAS because working all 50 states felt more manageable when i was new, then went after DXCC. WAZ i kind of did by accident while chasing DX, some zones fill in naturally. dont overthink it just work stuff and confirm it