Sustaining memberships are just like your membership with Public Television or NPR: they automatically renew each year. No more accidentally lapsed memberships; no more logging in to renew*; no more missed reminders. As a friendly memory jog, you will receive an email a month before the automatic renewal, but these are just courtesy notifications, and do not require you to do anything. (On the other hand, if you disagree with the sustaining arrangement, then just simply wait for the reminder email, and log in to your account and cancel it at that time.) If you wish to renew, all you have to do is nothing;  simply ignore the reminder email, and your renewal will be processed automatically.
For your security, we do not keep your credit card number on file, and that’s why for all the previous years, you had to remember to renew manually. And since we didn’t keep it, we cannot set up an automatic renewal until you provide it again, in the first order you place on our new online system. (That tells the card processor that you have a sustaining membership.)
So, if you have not renewed using our website, then when your membership comes around the next time (and only the next time) we will send out the usual reminder email, and ask you to log in and renew. From then on, everything will be automatic.
(You may disable auto-renewal. See the FAQ for more information.)