Finding a Star Alliance Partner Confirmation Number

For my upcoming trip to Tokyo, I used United miles to book my trip home on ANA.  Obtaining the ANA confirmation number allows me to select seats and make sure that the award ticketed properly.  Typically, this would require a phone call to United or ANA to retrieve the partner (in this case ANA) confirmation number.  Sometimes, United will make the confirmation number available within the booking on their own website.  I've found this to work for ANA, Air Canada, Turkish, and Air India.  I haven't had luck with Thai or Lufthansa.

United makes it easy to view (some) partner confirmation numbers

To view the partner confirmation number, view your reservation and click on the "view additional confirmation numbers" link.  If an additional confirmation number is available, it will be shown within the modal.  Write down the confirmation number.  You can then enter the confirmation number (often called a booking reference number with international airlines) along with some combination of your name to retrieve the reservation on the partner airline's website.  This should enable you to validate the award ticketed properly, select seats, meals, etc...and save you a phone call!