I have no reason to think it hoses your credit rating in the US if you pay your bill (or at least the minimum) on time. What it does do though AFAIK--it's been a long time since I've done it--is to start the clock on paying whatever extremely high interest rate your card has on the total balance on the card. Including your regular charges that would otherwise be carried interest-free until the payment due date.

So it's generally a very bad idea to get a cash advance on your credit card, especially a credit card that you also use to charge other purchases.