so i've had my general for about 4 years now and i keep telling myself i'm going to get serious about DXCC and i just... never do. finally sat down last week and actually logged into LoTW for the first time in like 8 months and apparently i already have 67 confirmed entities just from casual operating. which honestly surprised me more than it probably should have.

anyway i'm trying to figure out how this all works in terms of actually submitting for the award. do i need to wait until i hit 100 confirmed on LoTW or can i mix LoTW confirmations with paper QSL cards? i have a shoebox full of cards from the last few years that i never really organized and i'm wondering if those still count toward the initial 100. also is WAS worth chasing at the same time or is that just going to split my attention too much. i've heard some guys say do one thing at a time and others say just work everything and sort it out later.

sorry if this is a dumb question, i'm sure this gets asked a lot

not a dumb question at all, this stuff can be confusing because the ARRL doesnt exactly make it super obvious how it all works together. yes you can absolutely mix LoTW confirmations with paper QSL cards for the initial DXCC application, you just need 100 confirmed entities total and the cards get checked either at a convention or you can mail them in though mailing feels a little nerve wracking to me personally with irreplaceable cards.

67 confirmed already is a solid start honestly, some of those rarer ones you might have worked casually are gonna be harder to get again so dig through that shoebox sooner rather than later. for WAS vs DXCC i'd say just work everything and log it all, the bands will tell you what you're getting. some nights you'll be hearing nothing but US stations and that's WAS progress, other nights the DX is rolling in. no reason to artificially limit yourself. WAZ kind of takes care of itself once you're deep into DXCC hunting anyway.

im in almost the exact same boat as you so ill be watching this thread. i hit 100 entities on LoTW a few months ago but havent actually submitted yet because i got confused about the fees and the whole process tbh. did you figure out the club membership thing? i think it's cheaper if you're an ARRL member which i am but i couldnt find where to actually apply on the website, kept going in circles