On March 23, 2013 at the Greater Houston Hamfest I had my QSL cards checked to upgrade my VUCC Satellite Award from 700 grid squares to 761 grid squares. I received the processed VUCC upgrade from the ARRL today, June 10, 2013. The upgrade took 80 days to process. For some reason a QSL card from XE1AY for a contact in EL10 was not counted and the upgrade only took me up to 760 grid squares.
Also, I did not find a sticker for 750 grid squares in the envelope. I paid by credit card and did not receive a statement of the costs that were charged to my credit card. I surmise that the person who processes the VUCC upgrades is probably over worked.
My personal feeling is that the ARRL VUCC award is a very worthwhile award and that satellite operators should continue to participate in it.
Allen N5AFV