Is British English More Universal Than American English?

Some people say that British English is more universal than American English. But I think there's probably a bit of gray area, so we'll have to leave it at that. It's no secret that Americans spell a few words differently than us Canadians. Color C-O-L-O-U-R becomes color C- O-L-o-R and liter L-I-T-R-E becomes liter L-i-T-E-R among others.