Email VIP List gone from switching from iPhone 11 to iPhone 12

Question:

Q:

Backup, Restore, or Transfer Email VIP List

Whenever I upgrade to a new iPhone, I transfer all my data using iCloud. For the most part it always goes smoothly. The one issue I have is that I always lose my email VIP List and have to re-enter every contact I want as a VIP.

I use the Google Gmail. I'm guessing that might be the cause, but it still isn't completely.

Is anyone else seeing this?

Does the Email VIP List get transferred correctly when using iCloud for Contacts?

Is it possible to backup or somehow sync the Email VIP List if you use Google, etc?

Most recent transfer was iPhone 11 Pro (IOS 12) to iPhone 12 Pro (IOS 12)

Please help.

Thanks:)