There are some important details missing from the OP's message; the situation is therefore a bit difficult to analyse. He says his EB Gold card is valid to July 2014. If he joined EB in May of this year, his membership year would be 1 May to 30 April. When qualifying for Gold, the status is good for the current year and the following year. Plus, the card expiration is three months longer. So, if he earned Gold after joining this past May, this would be
completely standard.
However, he also says that he has so far earned 36 000 points. The question then is, how is he already Gold? I believe there was a 'status match' programme but that was only for people living in (I think) China -- and the OP says his location is UK.
In any case, regarding his renewal: I don't think it makes any difference how many (more) Basic points he earns in this membership year (i.e., 1.5.12 -- 30.4.13); they will all be zeroed out at the end of April '13. In order to retain his current Gold status beyond 30.4.2014, he will need to acquire at least 50K in his
next membership year (i.e., 1.5.2013 -- 30.4.2014).
I will happily be corrected if my analysis here is mistaken.
cheers,
Henry
(previously EBG for five years)