You need a US address to buy books from the Connect store, but
not to use the initial credit. You can also use Connect gift vouchers without a US credit card.
I've got my HP7 on pre-order from Amazon, too
. In fact I've ordered both a "reading" copy, and a couple of spare ones as "investments", too. Have you seen what 1st editions of even the later HP books are selling for on eBay these days - silly money! I figure that if I keep the spare ones for a few years, I'll make a considerable profit from selling them
.