I got lucky. I broke guarantee quite a lot. We were relatively short staffed Jan-July so I think that definitely was a factor. Hardly flew at all Nov-Dec, but could still break guarantee for certain items that pay above guarantee. Each of those months I broke guarantee, it was even with unused reserve days. Things like move up pay, reschedule into redeye or day off, are all above guarantee. I averaged about 80 hrs a month over the 9 months after IOE/training, and was reserve the whole time. Few months I was well north of 100. Never worked OT in my off days. Movement off reserve should be significantly faster for guys today due to the hire and upgrade rate they are planning.