I posted a cautionary note about applying for LoTW credits along with a paper DXCC application sometime ago.
The problem is that the LoTW credits aren't applied until the paper application is processed. If you believe that applying for credits and paying the fees will move the "applied" for QSLs to the "awarded" column in the blink of an eye, think again. But it doesn't seems to stop here. I applied for LoTW credits in an application dated July 21. On that application I indicated that I would also be submitting a paper field-check application via the ARRL SW Division convention held at the end of August. My paper application was received at ARRL on Sept 1, although, it wasn't until a couple of days ago that this fact showed up on the "Applications received" list on the ARRL web site. (Actually, the first indication that I had that the application was received was an email on Sept 27 asking for an updated expiration date on my credit card.) I received my updated DXCC totals on Oct 1 via the US mail. I noted that three QSLs were rejected because they were dupe band/mode. I found that curious since my log didn't show previous credits for them, nor did the ARRL LoTW web site matrix. A bit of digging and I discovered that I had applied for LoTW credits for those countries and they had been awarded and used instead of the paper QSLs. The problem is... according to the LoTW web site, my application is *still* pending, none of the credits that I applied for (paper or LoTW) have been credited to my totals and the award matrix is unchanged. So here I have a piece of paper, delivered by the USPS, that has the correct (I hope) totals and the super-duper computerized system hasn't been updated. I'm sure that someday they will get the bugs out of this system, but for now, I'm not trusting it to be accurate or up to date.
