I just renewed. A year ago, living in Denmark it was possible to pay without having a PayPal account. A few days ago it the UK it was not possible. I don't know whether it's the country change or the time shift that made the difference, but it almost stopped me renewing. Almost.
I agree that it *should* be possible, but it certainly wasn't for me.
Unsatisfactory workaround: get a friend who does have PP to pay for you, repay them. Better solution: PGC makes available another method to ALL users. After all, if you want money from people you really should make an effort to make that possible ;)