Understanding PBS helps but there's a limit as to how much it can help someone junior. When I was new I used to fly with the RSR and one of the guys who worked the PBS helpline all the time. Both would show me their bids and look at my bids and give me suggestions every month. I eventually started getting better lines than people who were somewhat senior to me. I still didn't get good lines though, just better than lines I should have gotten.

Now that we're going into a time where staffing is an issue and block hours are high I don't think there's any way to bid lower credit. After you posted about having 2 years seniority and getting 85 hours I looked at my Required Minimum Line Credit from last month and it was 89 hours. There was no way PBS could have even given me a line with 85 hours and 15 days off.