I also use Mullvad VPN exclusively for my VPN needs. The fact I can get 6 months of access with a scratch card bought from a store & my account is just a random integer number is an example of privacy by design: no email, no phone numbers, no credit cards. I don't even do anything illegal, I'd just rather have a (what I feel) trusted option when I want to browse the Internet anonymously.
You can even just randomly generate such an ID number, write it on a piece of paper and enclose it with cash in one of several currencies, and post it to them.
Can you buy those in US stores?
I’ve been paying for Mullvad with Monero for years. Love it