Should I decline the role!

I have been a actor for over 8 years now. I am 65 at this moment. Recently I did an audition for a new TV series. The audition came out pretty good to the point that they got back to my agent asking if I was available to shoot on specific dates. Even though the actual series shoots outside of Florida, I did not mind to work as a "local hire" paying for my own travel expenses. My thinking is that new eyes would see my work and that eventually residual checks could cover my initial investment. The day before yesterday they got back to my agent asking her to tell me to redo the audition with more charisma. I went ahead and redid it. Yesterday my agent emailed me that the production decided to go another route, but if I was willing to take a small one-liner role. I declined because that smaller role would not cover any of my travel expenses. This is a brand new show that airs next month. The entire first season has not been shot yet. I am gambling that if I am already on their radar, a juicier role might pop up. Did I do the right thing of declining the smaller role or should I have just said YES even if it was a small part?

I would love to read your comments.