You don't have to renew
Hi ssampy,
You don't have to renew your EAD, as long as you have valid H1-B, and most of the lawyers advise on staying on H1-B. But when it comes to AP, if you have valid visa stamped on your passport, it is ok. But with valid H1-B and without the visa, when you travel abroad you have to get visa stamped for re-entry, in case something happens with visa processing, you can enter on AP, which you can use as a backup. I hope you got the info you need.