Disputing a charge would be unrelated to whatever your current balance is on the card. If you have a $0 balance (since you paid it off or transferred it to a different card), and win the dispute, you will have a negative balance on the card and can call when the statement posts and have them send you a check to get you back to $0. I have had that happen once before when I had a big return on a card I don't use much.