I may not be in the beta, but it seems I can at least stop worrying if EA is going to allow a grace period between the head start and when you’ll need to have the code from your retail box.
Hello from Amazon.com,
We are writing to you today because you purchased a pre-order copy of ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic.’
We are now able to offer Release-Date Delivery for this video game. This special delivery option is available to you free of charge and has been automatically applied to your order. Your copy of ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’ will arrive on 20-Dec-11.
Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com.
Sincerely,
Customer Service Department
Amazon.com
In my experience, when Amazon.com says a date, it gets there by that date.
Addendum: Amazon even has a Release Date Delivery FAQ.
The Ancient Gaming Noob 