Flying a transatlantic out of DFW next week, and AS is 540 short of gold (really no way to squeeze in the extra miles within a week), so I'm planning to use the 30k perk to select a gold trial for early seat selection and AA lounge access. Which extra legroom seat would be better?
Is this 18C good, or is the exit row in row 26 better?
First confirm whether the exit row you picked charges an extra fee, then decide if 30k is worth it.
You mentioned using the 30k perk to select a gold trial—does this trial take effect before departure so you can choose seats immediately, or does it only count after you've completed this segment? Also, on AA's 772, are 18C and row 26 in different cabin layouts? Which version of the seat map are you looking at? These details directly affect whether you can select seats and whether your selection might get changed.
I'm skeptical about spending 30k specifically to select a trial for these 540 EQD. Even if the trial is approved, lounge access and seat selection privileges may not be applied consistently across different airports and different counters, and lounges at DFW international departures during peak times may already have queues or capacity limits. More realistically, during the trial you'd still need to rack up spending and segments outside this itinerary, otherwise the benefits would end when the trial ends. If it's just to be more comfortable on this one trip, you'd be better off saving the 30k and simply picking a regular aisle seat from the seat map—that's more reliable.
Here's another way to look at it: what you really need isn't necessarily extra legroom itself, but just enough comfort to get you through until your gold trial kicks in. 18C is an aisle seat, so it's easy to get in and out, but the recline and legroom aren't necessarily more generous than an exit row. The exit row in row 26 usually has more legroom, but the seat back may not recline, and there are restrictions on where the armrests are. If this is a red-eye and you want to sleep, I'd lean toward 18C; if it's a daytime flight and legroom is your main pain point, the exit row is the better value.