Hola Julia
Do you mean if we have a preference over hubieses or hubieras?
In Spain we alternate them and there is no obvious indication that there is a preference, although my personal view is that the -ra endings are slightly more common.
In Latin America though, that preference over the -ra endings is more noticeable, with the -se endings being used a lot less.
The use of hubieras/hubieses is part of our daily vocabulary, it doesn't sound pretentious at all. It's another subjunctive tense that we use in many common situations.
I hope this clarified it.
Gracias y saludos
