I think it depends on your situation in the UK. If you're getting paid in pounds, a UK card is clearly cheaper. If you're only in the UK for a few weeks or months, you're probably not going to be able to get a credit card. If all of your funds are in dollars, it may or may not be cheaper to use a US card. Most american credit cards charge 2 or 3% of the total of each transaction. You can find cards that only charge 1%(some credit unions) or 0%(capital one).